City · Rockingham County, North Carolina

Eden, North Carolina

Eden is a city in Rockingham County, North Carolina, part of the Greensboro-High Point, NC metro area. It has 15,356 residents. Eden, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,904 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #413 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), social associations (high) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), primary care shortage (high) and injury deaths (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,904 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #413 of 458 in NC
Population: 15,356 (2020-2024)
Land area: 14 mi²
Density: 1,079.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3720080

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety24#11,950/15,637
Economy8#14,389/15,631
Housing50#7,443/14,977
Health6#14,701/15,609
Healthcare9#14,170/15,650
Environment73#4,220/15,453
Education10#14,077/15,649
Infrastructure6#14,780/15,650
Community49#8,049/15,651
Leisure & amenities19#12,731/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Eden, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Rockingham 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

Child care cost burden · low21.2%
91/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRockingham County value
Social associations · high14.6 /10k
90/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRockingham County value
Pharmacies · high2.3 /10k
85/100North Carolina 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRockingham County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyRockingham County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100North Carolina 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRockingham County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.5×
76/100North Carolina 4.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low80.5%
5/100North Carolina 90.1%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100North Carolina 9.9United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationRockingham County value
Injury deaths · high141 /100k
6/100North Carolina 97 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRockingham County value
Drought exposure · high89%
7/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAARockingham County value
Drug overdose deaths · high31.3 /100k
7/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRockingham County value
Premature death · high13,181 /100k
8/100North Carolina 9,400 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRockingham County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.0 /1k (2021) → 4.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+379%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
35.3% (2015-2019) → 24.1% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.3% (2015-2019) → 80.5% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,917 (2015-2019) → $47,260 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
17.3% (2015-2019) → 11.9% (2020-2024)
−5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
53.4% (2015-2019) → 57.2% (2020-2024)
+3.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Eden, North Carolina improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved3

Child poverty−11 points35.3% → 24.1%
Household income+35%$34,917 → $47,260
Broadband+9.2 points71.3% → 80.5%

Declined1

Bachelor's+−5.4 points17.3% → 11.9%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Eden, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.6 min2015-2019	24.9 min2020-2024	+0.3 min	Within the margin of error	43%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.3%2015-2019	11.9%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Declined	6%
Broadband subscriptions	71.3%2015-2019	80.5%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Improved	56%
Child poverty rate	35.3%2015-2019	24.1%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	84%
Effective property tax rate	1.20%2015-2019	0.93%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	70%
High school diploma or higher	82.6%2015-2019	85.1%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4462015-2019	0.4922020-2024	+0.047	Within the margin of error	18%
Median household income	$34,9172015-2019	$47,2602020-2024	+35%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	22.6%2015-2019	19.2%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Rent as share of income	31.6%2015-2019	33.2%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent-burdened households	53.4%2015-2019	57.2%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Unemployment rate	7.5%2015-2019	8.3%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.4%2015-2019	12.4%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	76%

“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 Eden, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Eden, 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, Eden, North Carolina itself moved −4 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

15,356 residents (±50)

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

6,410 households (±422)

Eden, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k31%1,956
$25k–50k21%1,340
$50k–75k20%1,311

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,410 households (±422)

Eden, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own55%3,527
Rent45%2,883

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

6,312 workers (±486)

Eden, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone81%5,090
Carpool13%†812
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 Greensboro-High Point, 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 Rockingham County, the county holding most of Eden's residents.

Rockingham County has 1,632 employer establishments, 176 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.74× North Carolina's), with 21,282 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,000. The Census Bureau also counts 6,131 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,632; 6,131 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 176; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 21,282
Average annual pay: $41,000; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	134	14.5	0.94×About typical	770	$53,939	635
Restaurants and other eating places	126	13.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	2,062	$18,322	23
Religious organizations	119	12.9	2.32×More than typical	530	$17,689	—
Ambulatory health care services	88	9.5	0.46×Fewer than typical	988	$46,347	250
Building equipment contractors	66	7.1	1.19×About typical	366	$49,333	124
Gasoline stations	64	6.9	2.13×More than typical	301	$25,917	7
Limited-service restaurants	60	6.5	0.81×About typical	1,141	$18,159	13
Construction of buildings	56	6.1	0.80×About typical	182	$50,335	194
Full-service restaurants	55	5.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	886	$18,621	8
Services to buildings and dwellings	54	5.8	0.87×About typical	362	$24,583	601
Lessors of real estate	52	5.6	0.46×Fewer than typical	109	$41,028	500
Automotive repair and maintenance	43	4.6	0.92×About typical	216	$34,463	161

Rank places for an industry Open Rockingham County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 92,535 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 $3.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Eden, North Carolina: $216 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3.3M; +2.5% vs FY2025
Per resident: $216; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$3.2M97%
U.S. Secret Service$112.5K3.4%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$9,7790.3%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$1,6070.0%

Top recipients

CENTRAL LAKE ARMOR EXPRESS INC$3.3M100%

Spending by fiscal year

3.7MFY2017
7.3MFY2018
20.3MFY2019
3MFY2020
743.3KFY2021
-61.8KFY2022
6.2MFY2023
671KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing · 3159$3.3M100.0%

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 Eden, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Eden, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Rockingham County, NC ($65.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 5.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Rockingham 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.

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

House

Virginia FoxxR-NC-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.4%

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.

Rockingham County24100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Greensboro-High Point, NC52

Other cities and towns in Rockingham 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/3720080

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends