Village · Moore County, North Carolina

Pinehurst, North Carolina

Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, part of the Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC metro area. It has 18,256 residents. Pinehurst, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 84 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,552 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #44 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on child poverty rate (low), physical inactivity (low) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), homicide rate (high) and students per teacher (high).

84Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,552 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #44 of 458 in NC
Population: 18,256 (2020-2024)
Land area: 17 mi²
Density: 1,091.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 3751940

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.

Safety36#10,061/15,637
Economy87#2,032/15,631
Housing35#9,666/14,977
Health72#4,364/15,609
Healthcare82#2,851/15,650
Environment54#7,161/15,453
Education88#1,894/15,649
Infrastructure83#2,616/15,650
Community88#1,807/15,651
Leisure & amenities78#3,425/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Pinehurst, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Moore 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 poverty rate · low1.3%
98/100North Carolina 16.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Physical inactivity · low15.4%
94/100North Carolina 24.9%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100North Carolina 50.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMoore County value
Child care cost burden · low20.4%
94/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMoore County value
Voter turnout · high78.6%
94/100North Carolina 72.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionMoore County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high60.9%
93/100North Carolina 35.7%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high83%
9/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMoore County value
Homicide rate · high7.3 /100k
16/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataMoore County value
Students per teacher · high17.8×
16/100North Carolina 16.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsMoore County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high201 min
21/100North Carolina 189 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMoore County value
Rent-burdened households · high56.6%
22/100North Carolina 48.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Traffic deaths · high19.3 /100k
22/100North Carolina 15.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataMoore County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
16,050 (2015-2019) → 18,256 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
44.0% (2015-2019) → 56.6% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
6.6 /1k (2021) → 2.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−59%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
8.3% (2015-2019) → 1.2% (2020-2024)
−7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$82,081 (2015-2019) → $109,802 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.1% (2015-2019) → 33.1% (2020-2024)
+5 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, Pinehurst, North Carolina improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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.

Improved2

Household income+34%$82,081 → $109,802
Broadband+2.3 points92.2% → 94.6%

Declined1

Price / income+0.8×3.6× → 4.3×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Pinehurst, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.3 min2015-2019	23.7 min2020-2024	+0.5 min	Within the margin of error	42%
Bachelor's degree or higher	58.6%2015-2019	60.9%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Broadband subscriptions	92.2%2015-2019	94.6%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Improved	17%
Effective property tax rate	0.75%2015-2019	0.62%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	45%
High school diploma or higher	98.3%2015-2019	98.0%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Home price to income ratio	3.6×2015-2019	4.3×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	32%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4402015-2019	0.4372020-2024	−0.003	Within the margin of error	53%
Median household income	$82,0812015-2019	$109,8022020-2024	+34%	Improved	63%
Poverty rate	4.0%2015-2019	4.3%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	33.1%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent-burdened households	44.0%2015-2019	56.6%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Unemployment rate	3.0%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.9%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	69%

“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 Pinehurst, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pinehurst, 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, Pinehurst, North Carolina itself moved −7.6 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

18,256 residents (±38)

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

8,480 households (±331)

Pinehurst, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k8.7%741
$25k–50k14%1,204
$50k–75k12%1,013

Homes

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

Owners and renters

8,480 households (±331)

Pinehurst, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own85%7,225
Rent15%1,255

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

6,240 workers (±493)

Pinehurst, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone69%4,303
Carpool7.0%†439
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 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, 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 Moore County, the county holding most of Pinehurst's residents.

Moore County has 2,516 employer establishments, 235 for every 10,000 residents (0.95× the US rate of 248; 0.99× North Carolina's), with 36,324 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,137. The Census Bureau also counts 10,348 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,516; 10,348 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 235; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 36,324
Average annual pay: $53,137; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	214	20	0.96×About typical	3,627	$80,834	654
Restaurants and other eating places	213	19.9	1.08×About typical	3,798	$21,154	42
Specialty trade contractors	156	14.6	0.94×About typical	1,714	$81,249	643
Lessors of real estate	144	13.5	1.09×About typical	313	$53,326	1,330
Construction of buildings	103	9.6	1.27×More than typical	440	$57,764	314
Full-service restaurants	102	9.5	1.24×About typical	1,926	$24,622	17
Services to buildings and dwellings	100	9.4	1.39×More than typical	669	$40,709	667
Management, scientific and technical consulting	96	9	1.34×More than typical	800	$109,636	524
Limited-service restaurants	84	7.9	0.98×About typical	1,521	$17,734	20
Religious organizations	81	7.6	1.37×More than typical	482	$27,786	—
Offices of physicians	77	7.2	1.11×About typical	1,548	$92,744	152
Real estate agents and brokers	77	7.2	1.48×More than typical	128	$55,141	435

Rank places for an industry Open Moore County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 106,915 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 $6.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pinehurst, North Carolina: $368 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $6.7M; −11% vs FY2025
Per resident: $368; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 11%; 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

Federal Acquisition Service$3.3M49%
Department of Veterans Affairs$1.9M28%
U.S. Special Operations Command$268.9K4.0%
U.S. Coast Guard$191.9K2.9%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$191.2K2.8%
Bureau of Land Management$170.9K2.5%
Forest Service$134.4K2.0%
U.S. Marshals Service$93.5K1.4%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.1MFY2017
2.4MFY2018
2.3MFY2019
2.8MFY2020
4.8MFY2021
5.6MFY2022
6.7MFY2023
6.9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Motor vehicle manufacturing · 3361$5M75%
Basic chemical manufacturing · 3251$874.4K13%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$259.8K3.9%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$245.1K3.6%
Other schools and instruction · 6116$136.3K2.0%
Scientific research and development services · 5417

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

QTY 36 X PN R25X6W1RBD (REPLACED WITH APPROVED 2026 PN R26X6W1RBJ) RANGER CREW XD 1500 NORTHSTAR ULTIMATE QTY 36 X PN 2883870 TURN SIGNAL SYSTEM WITH HORN QTY 36 X PN 2889862 DOOR MOUNT SIDE VIEW MIRRORS QTY 1 X INSTALLATION SERVICES AWARDED IAW$1.7M
MACGYVER SOLUTIONS, INC.· Moore County, NC· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Feb 20, 2026 – Feb 20, 2026· 47QSWA26F0MR6
COMMUNITY NURSING HOME SERVICES WITH BASE YEAR POP: 03/11/2025-03/10/2026$936K
PINEHURST OPCO, LLC· Moore County, NC· Health & medical· Mar 11, 2025 – Dec 10, 2025· 36C24625N0581
UTILITY TASK VEHICLES$662.1K
MACGYVER SOLUTIONS, INC.· Moore County, NC· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Mar 4, 2026 – Jul 8, 2026· 36C24726F0113

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

Pinehurst, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Moore County, NC ($38M in FY2026), never added to them: 18% of that total.

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

See federal money in Moore 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.

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

House

Richard HudsonR-NC-9 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.2%

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.

Moore County81100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC84

Other cities and towns in Moore 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/3751940

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends