Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety32#10,648/15,637
Economy29#11,093/15,631
Housing54#6,819/14,977
Health17#12,909/15,609
Healthcare18#12,829/15,650
Environment50#7,651/15,453
Education32#10,585/15,649
Infrastructure5#14,825/15,650
Community34#10,332/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,840/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

New homes permitted · high16.5 /1k
94/100North Carolina 8.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Child care cost burden · low20.5%
93/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
Social associations · high14.8 /10k
90/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
Job growth · high1.9%
87/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLee County value
Comfortable days · high30.1%
78/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLee County value
Grocery stores · high2.1 /10k
78/100North Carolina 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLee County value

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low73.5%
1/100North Carolina 90.1%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Child poverty rate · high33.8%
5/100North Carolina 16.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Drought exposure · high88%
7/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAALee County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100North Carolina 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLee County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high17.5%
10/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Drug overdose deaths · high28.3 /100k
11/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLee County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
29,456 (2015-2019) → 31,478 (2020-2024)
+6.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
3.9 /1k (2021) → 16.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+327%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateWorsening
23.7% (2015-2019) → 33.9% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.0× (2015-2019) → 4.3× (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
43.9% (2015-2019) → 49.4% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$46,915 (2015-2019) → $57,586 (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Sanford, North Carolina improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved1

Household income+23%$46,915 → $57,586

Declined2

Child poverty+10 points23.7% → 33.9%
Price / income+1.2×3.0× → 4.3×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Sanford, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.8 min2015-2019	23.3 min2020-2024	−0.4 min	Within the margin of error	53%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.3%2015-2019	21.6%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Broadband subscriptions	69.6%2015-2019	73.5%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Child poverty rate	23.7%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	12%
Effective property tax rate	1.33%2015-2019	0.96%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	82%
High school diploma or higher	80.8%2015-2019	79.2%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	4.3×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	15%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4472015-2019	0.4432020-2024	−0.004	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$46,9152015-2019	$57,5862020-2024	+23%	Improved	39%
Poverty rate	18.2%2015-2019	22.0%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Rent as share of income	27.5%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Rent-burdened households	43.9%2015-2019	49.4%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Unemployment rate	6.3%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.1%2015-2019	17.6%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“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 Sanford, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sanford, 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, Sanford, North Carolina itself moved −5.9 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

31,478 residents (±47)

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: 20–29 women (−2.0 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

31,478 residents (±47)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White42%13,165
Black23%7,269
Hispanic or Latino30%9,459

Education

20,003 residents (±507)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma21%4,153
High school or GED25%5,003
Some college20%4,073

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

11,359 households (±414)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k19%2,114
$25k–50k26%2,902
$50k–75k19%2,194
$75k–100k12%1,373
$100k–150k14%1,542
$150k–200k6.5%†741
$200k or more4.3%†493

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−5.9 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 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

11,359 households (±414)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own53%6,052
Rent47%5,307

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

5,071 households (±444)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $75025%1,264
$750–1,00020%999
$1,000–1,50042%2,133

Home values

6,052 homes (±404)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k28%1,721
$150k–250k23%1,388
$250k–400k32%1,966

Age of homes

12,531 homes (±362)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later16%1,972
2000–200916%1,952
1980–199925%3,120

Size of homes

12,531 homes (±362)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio2.1%†266
1 bedroom6.8%853
2 bedrooms30%3,724

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

13,646 workers (±657)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone77%10,560
Carpool12%1,703
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.0%†136
Bike0.0%0
Work from home8.1%1,103
Other1.1%†144

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+6.1 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

12,543 workers (±689)

Sanford, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min41%5,114
15–29 min22%2,802
30–44 min19%2,431

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 Sanford, 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 Lee County, the county holding most of Sanford's residents.

Lee County has 1,460 employer establishments, 217 for every 10,000 residents (0.87× the US rate of 248; 0.91× North Carolina's), with 25,852 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,397. The Census Bureau also counts 5,219 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,460; 5,219 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 217; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 25,852
Average annual pay: $53,397; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	121	18	0.98×About typical	2,465	$17,911	32
Specialty trade contractors	106	15.7	1.02×About typical	1,013	$50,920	476
Ambulatory health care services	104	15.4	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,421	$62,134	176
Religious organizations	82	12.2	2.20×More than typical	617	$27,250	—
Limited-service restaurants	57	8.5	1.06×About typical	1,327	$16,082	19
Lessors of real estate	52	7.7	0.63×Fewer than typical	126	$65,413	536
Building equipment contractors	51	7.6	1.26×More than typical	600	$50,930	109
Full-service restaurants	51	7.6	0.99×About typical	976	$20,181	8
Construction of buildings	49	7.3	0.96×About typical	267	$48,296	185
Services to buildings and dwellings	43	6.4	0.95×About typical	313	$34,291	441
Automotive repair and maintenance	35	5.2	1.03×About typical	185	$38,973	74
Insurance agencies and brokerages	29	4.3	0.98×About typical	78	$61,885	73

Rank places for an industry Open Lee County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 67,346 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 $333.2K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sanford, North Carolina: $10.59 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $333.2K; +29% vs FY2025
Per resident: $10.59; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 5.0%; 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

Agricultural Marketing Service$313.1K94%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$17.4K5.2%
Federal Emergency Management Agency$2,6530.8%
Defense Logistics Agency$8330.2%

Top recipients

VIOLET SANFORD HOLDINGS, LLC$313.1K94%
CATERPILLAR INC$17.4K5.2%
AESTHETIC HOME INVESTMENTS LLC$2,6530.8%
SPANSET, INC.$8330.2%
THE WOODARD CORPORATION$00.0%
SPRINKLENET LLC

Spending by fiscal year

8.2KFY2017
32.7KFY2018
14.4KFY2019
91.3KFY2020
174.5KFY2021
373.4KFY2022
225.7KFY2023
197.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing · 3114$313.1K94%
Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing · 3331$17.4K5.2%
Lessors of real estate · 5311$2,6530.8%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$8330.2%

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

Sanford, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Lee County, NC ($2.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 13% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lee 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.

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

House

Brad KnottR-NC-13 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.6%

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.

Lee County40100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Sanford, NC32

Other cities and towns in Lee County

Largest first.

Broadway251,657

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/3759280

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends