Town · Onslow County, North Carolina

Richlands, North Carolina

Richlands is a town in Onslow County, North Carolina, part of the Jacksonville, NC metro area. It has 2,335 residents. Richlands, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,045 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #285 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), dentists (high) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), hospital quality rating (low) and public libraries (low).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,045 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #285 of 458 in NC
Population: 2,335 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,151.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3756360

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety32#10,564/15,637
Economy38#9,699/15,631
Housing83#2,544/14,977
Health30#10,876/15,609
Healthcare20#12,555/15,650
Environment63#5,687/15,453
Education55#7,019/15,649
Infrastructure36#9,964/15,650
Community5#14,878/15,651
Leisure & amenities16#13,189/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low24.8%
99/100North Carolina 48.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Dentists · high109 /100k
93/100North Carolina 62 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOnslow County value
Job growth · high2.1%
89/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataOnslow County value
Comfortable days · high32.6%
89/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationOnslow County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.3 µg/m³
85/100North Carolina 7.5 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOnslow County value
Child care cost burden · low23.9%
81/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOnslow County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high98.9
1/100North Carolina 45.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyOnslow County value
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100North Carolina 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesOnslow County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
5/100North Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesOnslow County value
Average weekly wage · low$941
10/100North Carolina $1,376United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOnslow County value
Voter turnout · low54.4%
10/100North Carolina 72.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionOnslow County value
Food environment index · low6.7
10/100North Carolina 6.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOnslow County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.6% (2015-2019) → 24.8% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
16.7% (2015-2019) → 38.1% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
15.8% (2015-2019) → 5.7% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.3% (2015-2019) → 91.2% (2020-2024)
+6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
30.5% (2015-2019) → 23.9% (2020-2024)
−6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
5.9% (2015-2019) → 12.2% (2020-2024)
+6.4 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, Richlands, North Carolina improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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

Bachelor's++21 points16.7% → 38.1%
Rent burden−27 points51.6% → 24.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Richlands, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.5 min2015-2019	34.6 min2020-2024	+2.1 min	Within the margin of error	26%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.7%2015-2019	38.1%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	99%
Broadband subscriptions	84.3%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Effective property tax rate	0.93%2015-2019	0.80%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
High school diploma or higher	91.9%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	3.8×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4072015-2019	0.4162020-2024	+0.009	Within the margin of error	43%
Median household income	$53,1712015-2019	$65,1632020-2024	+23%	Within the margin of error	39%
Poverty rate	16.3%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	81%
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	23.9%2020-2024	−6.6 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Rent-burdened households	51.6%2015-2019	24.8%2020-2024	−27 points	Improved	97%

“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 Richlands, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Richlands, 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, Richlands, North Carolina itself moved +11.3 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

2,335 residents (±825)

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

807 households (±215)

Richlands, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k13%†106
$25k–50k25%†201
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

807 households (±215)

Richlands, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own66%535
Rent34%†272

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

1,013 workers (±335)

Richlands, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone81%†820
Carpool3.9%†40
Public transit

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 Jacksonville, 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 Onslow County, the county holding most of Richlands's residents.

Onslow County has 3,080 employer establishments, 146 for every 10,000 residents (0.59× the US rate of 248; 0.61× North Carolina's), with 38,655 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,590. The Census Bureau also counts 13,866 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,080; 13,866 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 146; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 38,655
Average annual pay: $37,590; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	342	16.2	0.88×About typical	7,420	$19,592	42
Ambulatory health care services	211	10	0.48×Fewer than typical	2,375	$60,087	449
Lessors of real estate	200	9.5	0.77×Fewer than typical	591	$42,012	1,441
Specialty trade contractors	181	8.6	0.55×Fewer than typical	1,435	$51,066	994
Limited-service restaurants	175	8.3	1.03×About typical	4,063	$18,030	18
Full-service restaurants	129	6.1	0.80×Fewer than typical	2,835	$22,489	15
Construction of buildings	121	5.7	0.76×Fewer than typical	645	$51,355	466
Services to buildings and dwellings	110	5.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	649	$35,766	1,223
Real estate agents and brokers	106	5	1.03×About typical	208	$44,288	653
Religious organizations	101	4.8	0.86×About typical	661	$22,284	—
Building equipment contractors	87	4.1	0.69×Fewer than typical	823	$51,910	180
Automotive repair and maintenance	73	3.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	495	$42,794	225

Rank places for an industry Open Onslow County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 210,955 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 Richlands, North Carolina: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

HONEYCUTT ADVERTISING AND MARKETING, LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

213FY2017
28.6FY2018
172.7FY2019
233.3FY2020
233.3FY2021
233.3FY2022
203.7FY2023
233.3FY2024
92.5

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Richlands, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Richlands, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Onslow County, NC ($562.2M 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: Richlands is mostly in Onslow County.

See federal money in Onslow 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.

Richlands, 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.

Onslow County45100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Jacksonville, NC48

Other cities and towns in Onslow 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/3756360

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends