City · Halifax County, North Carolina

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina

Roanoke Rapids is a city in Halifax County, North Carolina, part of the Roanoke Rapids, NC metro area. It has 14,856 residents. Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,128 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #382 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on public EV charging ports (high), grocery stores (high) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on homicide rate (high), drought exposure (high) and premature death (high).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,128 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #382 of 458 in NC
Population: 14,856 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 1,498.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3756900

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.

Safety1#15,409/15,637
Economy13#13,531/15,631
Housing71#4,295/14,977
Health15#13,318/15,609
Healthcare11#13,931/15,650
Environment75#3,870/15,453
Education17#12,952/15,649
Infrastructure24#11,922/15,650
Community29#11,137/15,651
Leisure & amenities42#9,123/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Public EV charging ports · high18.3 /10k
94/100North Carolina 5.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyHalifax County value
Grocery stores · high2.6 /10k
90/100North Carolina 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHalifax County value
Job growth · high1.4%
83/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHalifax County value
Public libraries · high1.3 /10k
82/100North Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesHalifax County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.8 µg/m³
77/100North Carolina 7.5 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHalifax County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100North Carolina 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHalifax County value

Weaknesses

Homicide rate · high21.1 /100k
1/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHalifax County value
Drought exposure · high98%
3/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAHalifax County value
Premature death · high15,612 /100k
3/100North Carolina 9,400 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHalifax County value
Life expectancy · low70.8 yrs
4/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHalifax County value
Traffic deaths · high37.3 /100k
4/100North Carolina 15.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataHalifax County value
Firearm deaths · high27.5 /100k
4/100North Carolina 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHalifax County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
0.4 /1k (2021) → 1.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+295%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.7% (2015-2019) → 86.4% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
53.1% (2015-2019) → 42.7% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$37,575 (2015-2019) → $53,690 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
81.4% (2015-2019) → 89.6% (2020-2024)
+8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Poverty rateImproving
25.7% (2015-2019) → 18.4% (2020-2024)
−7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina improved on 4 of 14 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.

Improved4

Poverty−7.3 points25.7% → 18.4%
Broadband+18 points68.7% → 86.4%
Uninsured−4.9 points14.3% → 9.4%
Household income+43%$37,575 → $53,690

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.2 min2015-2019	21.8 min2020-2024	+2.6 min	Within the margin of error	22%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.9%2015-2019	22.0%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	68.7%2015-2019	86.4%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	86%
Child poverty rate	35.1%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	−6.8 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Effective property tax rate	1.34%2015-2019	1.02%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	77%
High school diploma or higher	81.4%2015-2019	89.6%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	90%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5112015-2019	0.4602020-2024	−0.050	Within the margin of error	84%
Median household income	$37,5752015-2019	$53,6902020-2024	+43%	Improved	78%
Poverty rate	25.7%2015-2019	18.4%2020-2024	−7.3 points	Improved	88%
Rent as share of income	30.9%2015-2019	26.5%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Rent-burdened households	53.1%2015-2019	42.7%2020-2024	−10 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Unemployment rate	6.5%2015-2019	8.1%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.3%2015-2019	9.4%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Improved	86%

“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 Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Roanoke Rapids, 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, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina itself moved +14.5 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

14,856 residents (±44)

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

6,194 households (±326)

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k25%1,543
$25k–50k23%1,420
$50k–75k16%993

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,194 households (±326)

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own50%3,092
Rent50%3,102

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

6,020 workers (±505)

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone74%4,467
Carpool11%†662
Public transit0.0%†

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 Roanoke Rapids, 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 Halifax County, the county holding most of Roanoke Rapids's residents.

Halifax County has 934 employer establishments, 198 for every 10,000 residents (0.80× the US rate of 248; 0.84× North Carolina's), with 12,340 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,844. The Census Bureau also counts 2,892 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 934; 2,892 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 198; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 12,340
Average annual pay: $41,844; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	92	19.5	0.94×About typical	1,060	$55,351	128
Restaurants and other eating places	84	17.8	0.97×About typical	1,890	$16,562	13
Specialty trade contractors	50	10.6	0.69×Fewer than typical	652	$55,649	211
Religious organizations	46	9.8	1.76×More than typical	152	$18,059	—
Limited-service restaurants	44	9.3	1.17×About typical	1,041	$16,405	8
Gasoline stations	36	7.6	2.36×More than typical	215	$28,828	—
Full-service restaurants	34	7.2	0.94×About typical	751	$16,923	4
Building equipment contractors	32	6.8	1.13×About typical	421	$50,069	52
Offices of physicians	32	6.8	1.05×About typical	325	$90,372	14
Lessors of real estate	30	6.4	0.52×Fewer than typical	80	$25,963	207
Automotive repair and maintenance	25	5.3	1.05×About typical	182	$36,005	69
General merchandise stores	25	5.3	3.00×More than typical	572	$23,636	9

Rank places for an industry Open Halifax County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 47,075 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 $555.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina: $37.37 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $555.1K; +28% vs FY2025
Per resident: $37.37; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

569.6KFY2017
522.2KFY2018
327.6KFY2019
365.9KFY2020
541.8KFY2021
598.9KFY2022
312.8KFY2023
528.8K

Top industries (NAICS)

Consumer goods rental · 5322$538K97%
Special food services · 7223$17.2K3.1%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$20.490.0%

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

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Halifax County, NC ($3.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 15% of that total.

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

See federal money in Halifax 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.

Roanoke Rapids, 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.

Halifax County12100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Roanoke Rapids, NC6

Other cities and towns in Halifax 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/3756900

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends