City · Nash County, North Carolina

Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Rocky Mount is a city in Nash County, North Carolina, part of the Rocky Mount, NC metro area. It has 54,297 residents. Rocky Mount, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 20 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,554 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #354 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), average commute time (low) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), broadband subscriptions (low) and homicide rate (high).

20Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,554 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #354 of 458 in NC
Population: 54,297 (2020-2024)
Land area: 45 mi²
Density: 1,200.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3757500

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.

Safety4#15,002/15,637
Economy9#14,168/15,631
Housing84#2,327/14,977
Health14#13,417/15,609
Healthcare22#12,174/15,650
Environment56#6,862/15,453
Education9#14,248/15,649
Infrastructure23#12,040/15,650
Community66#5,265/15,651
Leisure & amenities34#10,276/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Rocky Mount, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Nash 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 · low42.3%
85/100North Carolina 48.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Average commute time · low20.6 min
83/100North Carolina 25.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent as share of income · low26.4%
82/100North Carolina 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Social associations · high12.5 /10k
80/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNash County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low8 mi
80/100North Carolina 23 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauNash County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100North Carolina 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesNash County value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high100%
1/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAANash County value
Broadband subscriptions · low80.7%
3/100North Carolina 90.1%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Homicide rate · high14.5 /100k
3/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataNash County value
Child poverty rate · high33.3%
5/100North Carolina 16.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Job growth · low-3.3%
6/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataNash County value
Firearm deaths · high24.9 /100k
6/100North Carolina 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataNash County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
4.0 /1k (2021) → 1.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−55%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.0% (2015-2019) → 42.2% (2020-2024)
−8.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.2% (2015-2019) → 80.7% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$40,633 (2015-2019) → $55,534 (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateWorsening
29.1% (2015-2019) → 33.3% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
30.5% (2015-2019) → 26.4% (2020-2024)
−4.1 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, Rocky Mount, North Carolina improved on 4 of 14 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.

Improved4

Rent burden−8.7 points51.0% → 42.2%
Rent / income−4.1 points30.5% → 26.4%
Household income+37%$40,633 → $55,534
Broadband+8.5 points72.2% → 80.7%

Declined1

Uninsured+3.2 points10.9% → 14.1%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Rocky Mount, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	20.6 min2020-2024	−0.8 min	Within the margin of error	58%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.3%2015-2019	22.9%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Broadband subscriptions	72.2%2015-2019	80.7%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Improved	52%
Child poverty rate	29.1%2015-2019	33.3%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Effective property tax rate	0.97%2015-2019	0.88%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
High school diploma or higher	85.2%2015-2019	87.3%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	68%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4812015-2019	0.4662020-2024	−0.015	Within the margin of error	64%
Median household income	$40,6332015-2019	$55,5342020-2024	+37%	Improved	68%
Poverty rate	19.2%2015-2019	19.7%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Rent as share of income	30.5%2015-2019	26.4%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Improved	79%
Rent-burdened households	51.0%2015-2019	42.2%2020-2024	−8.7 points	Improved	80%
Unemployment rate	7.3%2015-2019	8.0%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.9%2015-2019	14.1%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Declined	18%

“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 Rocky Mount, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rocky Mount, 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, Rocky Mount, North Carolina itself moved +7.7 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

54,297 residents (±36)

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

23,364 households (±763)

Rocky Mount, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k22%5,154
$25k–50k22%5,198
$50k–75k22%5,119

Homes

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

Owners and renters

23,364 households (±763)

Rocky Mount, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own49%11,451
Rent51%11,913

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

23,392 workers (±1,090)

Rocky Mount, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone80%18,703
Carpool7.5%1,764
Public transit1.0%†239

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 Rocky Mount, 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 Nash County, the county holding most of Rocky Mount's residents.

Nash County has 2,114 employer establishments, 217 for every 10,000 residents (0.87× the US rate of 248; 0.91× North Carolina's), with 38,350 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,656. The Census Bureau also counts 7,165 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,114; 7,165 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 217; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 38,350
Average annual pay: $48,656; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	159	16.3	0.89×About typical	3,707	$18,593	34
Ambulatory health care services	144	14.8	0.71×Fewer than typical	1,859	$60,602	284
Specialty trade contractors	134	13.8	0.89×About typical	1,493	$58,509	596
Religious organizations	100	10.3	1.85×More than typical	560	$23,600	—
Limited-service restaurants	78	8	1.00×About typical	2,032	$18,799	8
Lessors of real estate	74	7.6	0.62×Fewer than typical	233	$39,717	679
Building equipment contractors	70	7.2	1.20×About typical	903	$60,615	125
Services to buildings and dwellings	67	6.9	1.02×About typical	471	$28,932	681
Full-service restaurants	64	6.6	0.86×About typical	1,421	$18,757	13
Construction of buildings	63	6.5	0.86×About typical	406	$68,030	209
Gasoline stations	62	6.4	1.97×More than typical	468	$23,656	3
Clothing and accessories stores	49	5	1.39×More than typical	437	$18,574	92

Rank places for an industry Open Nash County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 97,319 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 $8.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Rocky Mount, North Carolina: $165 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $8.9M; −55% vs FY2025
Per resident: $165; US $1,995
Sole-source: 84%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.4%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$5.1M58%
Department of the Air Force$3.8M42%
Social Security Administration$51.6K0.6%
Department of the Army$4,1860.0%
Defense Information Systems Agency$3,6490.0%
Department of the Navy$6940.0%

Top recipients

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.$3.5M39%
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.$2.3M26%
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC$1.4M16%
ROCKWELL COLLINS, INC.$921K10%
BABINGTON TECHNOLOGY, INCORPORATED$384.1K4.3%

Spending by fiscal year

7MFY2017
7.8MFY2018
8.6MFY2019
13MFY2020
8.7MFY2021
11MFY2022
12.5MFY2023
14M

Top industries (NAICS)

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$7.5M84%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$595.9K6.7%
Industrial machinery manufacturing · 3332$353.1K3.9%
Other textile product mills · 3149$229.4K2.6%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$177.6K2.0%
Offices of real estate agents and brokers · 5312

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Rocky Mount, North Carolina

KC-135 AERO-I SATELLITE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM$11.7M
ROCKWELL COLLINS, INC.· Nash County, NC· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Aug 28, 2024 – May 18, 2026· FA810524F0017
PARTIAL PACK, 645E$4.4M
ENGINE SYSTEMS, INC.· Nash County, NC· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Nov 25, 2024 – Apr 20, 2026· N0010425PCA17
OVERHAUL OF F100-PW-220-229 FUEL CONTROLS AND ACCESSORIES$1.4M
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.· Nash County, NC· Equipment maintenance· May 6, 2026 – May 6, 2026· FA812126F0070
8511719827!TUBE AND BUSHING AS

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

Rocky Mount, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Nash County, NC and Edgecombe County, NC ($25.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 35% of that total.

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

See federal money in Nash 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.

Rocky Mount, 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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Rocky Mount, NC24

Other cities and towns in Nash 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/3757500

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends