Scores by category

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

Safety2#15,302/15,637
Economy2#15,304/15,631
Housing35#9,803/14,977
Health4#14,994/15,609
Healthcare19#12,661/15,650
Environment83#2,567/15,453
Education19#12,617/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,788/15,650
Community30#10,879/15,651
Leisure & amenities28#11,325/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Grocery stores · high3.0 /10k
95/100North Carolina 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsVance County value
Social associations · high14.7 /10k
90/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVance County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.8 mi
82/100North Carolina 7.9 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesVance County value
Natural hazard risk · low12.4
80/100North Carolina 45.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyVance County value
Average commute time · low20.8 min
80/100North Carolina 25.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100North Carolina 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyVance County value

Weaknesses

Premature death · high17,222 /100k
2/100North Carolina 9,400 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVance County value
Life expectancy · low70.1 yrs
3/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVance County value
Adult obesity · high46.1%
3/100North Carolina 37.2%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Broadband subscriptions · low81.1%
4/100North Carolina 90.1%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Homicide rate · high13.1 /100k
4/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataVance County value
Lack of reliable transportation · high17.4%
5/100North Carolina 8.8%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.6% (2015-2019) → 81.1% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$31,408 (2015-2019) → $39,969 (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
51.4% (2015-2019) → 56.3% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
77.6% (2015-2019) → 81.6% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.542 (2015-2019) → 0.491 (2020-2024)
−9.5%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
30.5% (2015-2019) → 32.4% (2020-2024)
+1.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Henderson, North Carolina improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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.

Improved2

Broadband+13 points67.6% → 81.1%
Household income+27%$31,408 → $39,969

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Henderson, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	20.8 min2020-2024	−0.8 min	Within the margin of error	57%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.8%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Broadband subscriptions	67.6%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	74%
Child poverty rate	39.8%2015-2019	39.2%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Effective property tax rate	0.86%2015-2019	1.10%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	77.6%2015-2019	81.6%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	83%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5422015-2019	0.4912020-2024	−0.052	Within the margin of error	84%
Median household income	$31,4082015-2019	$39,9692020-2024	+27%	Improved	49%
Poverty rate	27.7%2015-2019	27.3%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.5%2015-2019	32.4%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Rent-burdened households	51.4%2015-2019	56.3%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Unemployment rate	9.5%2015-2019	9.4%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.1%2015-2019	15.9%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	36%

“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 Henderson, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Henderson, 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, Henderson, North Carolina itself moved −1.6 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

14,885 residents (±24)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69
50–59
40–49†
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (+3.4 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

14,885 residents (±24)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White21%3,144
Black63%9,423
Hispanic or Latino9.7%1,441

Education

9,973 residents (±521)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma18%1,838
High school or GED34%3,402
Some college23%2,253

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

6,176 households (±337)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k33%2,039
$25k–50k26%1,603
$50k–75k24%1,455
$75k–100k4.7%†293
$100k–150k6.3%†389
$150k–200k4.4%†269
$200k or more2.1%†128

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (+7.7 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,176 households (±337)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own39%2,400
Rent61%3,776

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

3,372 households (±375)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $75038%1,276
$750–1,00036%1,230
$1,000–1,50020%†688

Home values

2,400 homes (±341)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k58%1,391
$150k–250k21%†510
$250k–400k16%†375

Age of homes

7,326 homes (±337)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later3.5%†257
2000–20099.0%†660
1980–199919%1,357

Size of homes

7,326 homes (±337)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio1.2%†88
1 bedroom8.4%†615
2 bedrooms41%3,032

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

6,062 workers (±476)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone76%4,604
Carpool15%929
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.4%†83
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.1%†372
Other1.2%†74

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

5,690 workers (±458)

Henderson, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min49%2,796
15–29 min27%1,522
30–44 min11%†632

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Henderson, 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 Vance County, the county holding most of Henderson's residents.

Vance County has 880 employer establishments, 208 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.87× North Carolina's), with 13,108 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,419. The Census Bureau also counts 2,885 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 880; 2,885 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 208; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 13,108
Average annual pay: $43,419; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	70	16.5	0.79×Fewer than typical	902	$58,307	159
Restaurants and other eating places	63	14.9	0.81×About typical	1,331	$16,872	12
Religious organizations	59	13.9	2.51×More than typical	161	$22,093	—
Specialty trade contractors	45	10.6	0.69×Fewer than typical	203	$41,547	219
Gasoline stations	34	8	2.48×More than typical	183	$29,404	—
Lessors of real estate	32	7.6	0.61×Fewer than typical	75	$42,213	268
Limited-service restaurants	32	7.6	0.94×About typical	798	$16,955	4
Automotive repair and maintenance	26	6.1	1.22×About typical	135	$42,304	60
Construction of buildings	26	6.1	0.81×About typical	128	$57,477	112
Full-service restaurants	25	5.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	475	$16,368	5
Offices of physicians	24	5.7	0.87×About typical	407	$83,405	11
Services to buildings and dwellings	24	5.7	0.84×About typical	85	$41,894	289

Rank places for an industry Open Vance County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 42,359 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 $16.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Henderson, North Carolina: $1,107 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $16.5M; −43% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,107; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.1%; 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

Department of Education$15.8M96%
Environmental Protection Agency$651.9K4.0%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$11.1K0.1%

Top recipients

VALIANT SOLUTIONS, LLC$16.5M99.9%
HOLLAND SUPPLY COMPANY$11.1K0.1%

Spending by fiscal year

366.2KFY2017
5.9MFY2018
14.2MFY2019
11.9MFY2020
12.2MFY2021
9.8MFY2022
9.8MFY2023
28.6M

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Henderson, North Carolina

OAQPS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT CONTRACT$31.5M
VALIANT SOLUTIONS, LLC· Vance County, NC· Professional services· Mar 7, 2024 – Jun 10, 2026· 68HERD24F0032
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DATA SECURITY AND SERVICES OPERATIONS CONTRACT (EDSSOC) TASK ORDER$17.7M
VALIANT SOLUTIONS, LLC· Vance County, NC· IT & telecom· Mar 7, 2024 – Sep 29, 2026· 91990024F0011
CYBER DATA INNOVATION AND SERVICES (CDIS) CALL ORDER. FOR THE LICENSING REQUIREMENTS, VALIANT SOLUTIONS, LLC HAS A CTA WITH BLACKWOOD ASSOCIATES, INC (GSA SCHEDULE GS-35F-0142V) AND CARAHSOFT TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION (GSA SCHEDULE 47QSWA18D008F).$12.9M
VALIANT SOLUTIONS, LLC· Vance County, NC· IT & telecom· Mar 18, 2024 – Aug 24, 2026· 91990024F0319

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

Henderson, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Vance County, NC ($37.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 44% of that total.

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

See federal money in Vance 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.

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

House

Donald G. DavisD-NC-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 70%Missed 1.8%

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.

Vance County20100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Henderson, NC7

Other cities and towns in Vance 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/3730660

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends