Town · Carteret County, North Carolina

Cedar Point, North Carolina

Cedar Point is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, part of the Morehead City, NC metro area. It has 1,917 residents. Cedar Point, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 79 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,361 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #64 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on restaurants and bars (high), voter turnout (high) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), average weekly wage (low) and hospital quality rating (low).

79High

Quality-of-life score: #3,361 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #64 of 458 in NC
Population: 1,917 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 857.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3711340

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety34#10,277/15,637
Economy76#3,768/15,631
Housing60#5,946/14,977
Health45#8,559/15,609
Healthcare56#6,849/15,650
Environment90#1,568/15,453
Education87#1,991/15,649
Infrastructure41#9,190/15,650
Community88#1,931/15,651
Leisure & amenities95#830/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cedar Point, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Carteret County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Restaurants and bars · high18.9 /10k
98/100North Carolina 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarteret County value
Voter turnout · high81.7%
98/100North Carolina 72.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionCarteret County value
Child care cost burden · low19.2%
96/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarteret County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high9.4 /10k
94/100North Carolina 4.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarteret County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.44%
91/100North Carolina 0.66%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.9 µg/m³
91/100North Carolina 7.5 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCarteret County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high99.9
0/100North Carolina 45.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCarteret County value
Average weekly wage · low$918
7/100North Carolina $1,376United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarteret County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100North Carolina 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCarteret County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high225 min
10/100North Carolina 189 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCarteret County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high92 mi
11/100North Carolina 23 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCarteret County value
Suicide rate · high23.0 /100k
12/100North Carolina 14.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCarteret County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.1% (2015-2019) → 44.9% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$78,646 (2015-2019) → $98,750 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
8.1% (2015-2019) → 3.6% (2020-2024)
−4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
High school diploma or higherImproving
94.2% (2015-2019) → 97.1% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Average commute timeImproving
30.3 min (2015-2019) → 25.9 min (2020-2024)
−14%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.475 (2015-2019) → 0.412 (2020-2024)
−13%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Cedar Point, North Carolina improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+26%$78,646 → $98,750

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Cedar Point, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.3 min2015-2019	25.9 min2020-2024	−4.4 min	Within the margin of error	87%
Bachelor's degree or higher	46.7%2015-2019	46.6%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Broadband subscriptions	92.7%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Effective property tax rate	0.56%2015-2019	0.44%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	38%
High school diploma or higher	94.2%2015-2019	97.1%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Home price to income ratio	4.1×2015-2019	4.3×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	69%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4752015-2019	0.4122020-2024	−0.063	Within the margin of error	88%
Median household income	$78,6462015-2019	$98,7502020-2024	+26%	Improved	45%
Poverty rate	6.3%2015-2019	5.4%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.8%2015-2019	23.6%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Rent-burdened households	38.1%2015-2019	44.9%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.1%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Within the margin of error	85%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Cedar Point, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cedar Point, North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Cedar Point, North Carolina itself moved +2.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,917 residents (±302)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

782 households (±130)

Cedar Point, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k13%†100
$25k–50k10.0%†78
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

782 households (±130)

Cedar Point, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own87%682
Rent13%†100

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

808 workers (±176)

Cedar Point, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone81%657
Carpool3.7%†30
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Morehead City, NC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Carteret County, the county holding most of Cedar Point's residents.

Carteret County has 2,249 employer establishments, 323 for every 10,000 residents (1.30× the US rate of 248; 1.36× North Carolina's), with 21,789 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,793. The Census Bureau also counts 7,397 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,249; 7,397 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 323; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 21,789
Average annual pay: $42,793; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Carteret County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	217	31.2	1.70×More than typical	3,783	$24,363	25
Specialty trade contractors	169	24.3	1.57×More than typical	934	$48,290	646
Ambulatory health care services	157	22.5	1.08×About typical	1,573	$66,371	305
Lessors of real estate	131	18.8	1.53×More than typical	604	$46,180	1,190
Construction of buildings	129	18.5	2.45×More than typical	436	$50,651	374
Full-service restaurants	121	17.4	2.26×More than typical	2,319	$26,492	12
Services to buildings and dwellings	90	12.9	1.92×More than typical	587	$33,818	646
Building equipment contractors	83	11.9	1.98×More than typical	554	$48,527	112
Real estate agents and brokers	67	9.6	1.98×More than typical	132	$56,720	341
Limited-service restaurants	66	9.5	1.18×About typical	1,200	$21,948	9
Religious organizations	66	9.5	1.71×More than typical	347	$30,476	—
Offices of physicians	53	7.6	1.18×About typical	667	$94,010	83

Rank places for an industry Open Carteret County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 69,646 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cedar Point, North Carolina: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.8KFY2017
17KFY2018
18.7KFY2023
-2.6KFY2024
-1.8KFY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Cedar Point, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Cedar Point, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Carteret County, NC ($18.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Cedar Point is mostly in Carteret County.

See federal money in Carteret County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Cedar Point, North Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Gregory F. MurphyR-NC-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 12.9%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Carteret County81100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Morehead City, NC85

Other cities and towns in Carteret County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3711340

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends