Census-designated place · Caldwell County, North Carolina

Northlakes, North Carolina

Northlakes is a census-designated place in Caldwell County, North Carolina, part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area. It has 1,716 residents. Northlakes, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 62 out of 100 (high), ranking #6,005 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #145 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on poverty rate (low), uninsured residents (under 65) (low) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), firearm deaths (high) and life expectancy (low).

62High

Quality-of-life score: #6,005 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #145 of 458 in NC
Population: 1,716 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,150.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 3747695

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety23#11,970/15,637
Economy88#1,944/15,631
Housing—
Health42#9,012/15,609
Healthcare37#9,938/15,650
Environment85#2,313/15,453
Education63#5,768/15,649
Infrastructure84#2,508/15,650
Community64#5,680/15,651
Leisure & amenities16#13,180/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Poverty rate · low2.0%
96/100North Carolina 12.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.1%
94/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Unemployment rate · low1.0%
92/100North Carolina 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Food insecurity · low8.0%
92/100North Carolina 15.8%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Lack of reliable transportation · low5.2%
92/100North Carolina 8.8%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Effective property tax rate · low0.46%
90/100North Carolina 0.66%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high41.0 /100k
3/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCaldwell County value
Firearm deaths · high26.1 /100k
5/100North Carolina 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCaldwell County value
Life expectancy · low71.9 yrs
7/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value
Premature death · high13,372 /100k
7/100North Carolina 9,400 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value
Food environment index · low6.6
9/100North Carolina 6.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value
Suicide rate · high22.3 /100k
13/100North Carolina 14.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCaldwell County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,509 (2015-2019) → 1,716 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.9% (2015-2019) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+54 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
45.2% (2015-2019) → 54.0% (2020-2024)
+8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.6× (2015-2019) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Average commute timeImproving
26.6 min (2015-2019) → 18.0 min (2020-2024)
−32%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
6.1% (2015-2019) → 1.1% (2020-2024)
−4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Northlakes, North Carolina improved on 0 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Price / income+1.1×2.6× → 3.6×

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Northlakes, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.6 min2015-2019	18.0 min2020-2024	−8.6 min	Within the margin of error	97%
Bachelor's degree or higher	45.2%2015-2019	54.0%2020-2024	+8.8 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Broadband subscriptions	95.8%2015-2019	97.2%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	0.63%2015-2019	0.46%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	51%
High school diploma or higher	97.1%2015-2019	97.1%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+1.1×	Declined	20%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3202015-2019	0.3272020-2024	+0.007	Within the margin of error	44%
Median household income	$81,8752015-2019	$101,2502020-2024	+24%	Within the margin of error	41%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Northlakes, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Northlakes, 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, Northlakes, North Carolina itself moved +3.1 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,716 residents (±327)

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: Under 10 men (+10.9 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

1,716 residents (±327)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White93%1,593
Black0.4%†7
Hispanic or Latino4.0%†69

Education

1,126 residents (±213)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma2.9%†33
High school or GED13%†142
Some college19%

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

604 households (±117)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k3.5%†21
$25k–50k9.3%†56
$50k–75k26%†156
$75k–100k11%†64
$100k–150k31%†189
$150k–200k9.8%†59
$200k or more9.8%†59

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 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

604 households (±117)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own84%505
Rent16%†99

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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

18 households (±20)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,50050%†9

Home values

505 homes (±112)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k3.4%†17
$150k–250k16%†83
$250k–400k37%†189

Age of homes

604 homes (±117)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later3.1%†19
2000–200923%†140
1980–199934%†

Size of homes

604 homes (±117)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms0.0%0

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

746 workers (±219)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone71%†533
Carpool17%†126
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home10%†78
Other1.2%†9

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (+12.9 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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

668 workers (±233)

Northlakes, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min23%†155
15–29 min65%†433
30–44 min5.1%†

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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, 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 Caldwell County, the county holding most of Northlakes's residents.

Caldwell County has 1,414 employer establishments, 175 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.74× North Carolina's), with 23,930 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,214. The Census Bureau also counts 5,443 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,414; 5,443 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 175; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 23,930
Average annual pay: $48,214; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	123	15.2	0.83×About typical	2,202	$16,498	19
Religious organizations	92	11.4	2.06×More than typical	421	$19,276	—
Specialty trade contractors	92	11.4	0.74×Fewer than typical	429	$46,921	571
Ambulatory health care services	66	8.2	0.39×Fewer than typical	2,513	$62,537	168
Limited-service restaurants	62	7.7	0.96×About typical	1,393	$16,786	6
Services to buildings and dwellings	50	6.2	0.92×About typical	309	$39,984	598
Full-service restaurants	48	6	0.77×Fewer than typical	670	$16,531	11
Automotive repair and maintenance	47	5.8	1.16×About typical	236	$34,419	151
Lessors of real estate	46	5.7	0.46×Fewer than typical	76	$44,895	396
Gasoline stations	43	5.3	1.64×More than typical	270	$18,996	—
Building equipment contractors	42	5.2	0.87×About typical	195	$48,174	82
Construction of buildings	38	4.7	0.62×Fewer than typical	248	$55,887	293

Rank places for an industry Open Caldwell County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 80,659 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 Northlakes, North Carolina: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
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

51.2KFY2017
1.9KFY2018

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Northlakes, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Northlakes, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Caldwell County, NC ($3.1M 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: Northlakes is mostly in Caldwell County.

See federal money in Caldwell 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.

Northlakes, 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.

Caldwell County39100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC46

Other cities and towns in Caldwell 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

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