Census-designated place · Halifax County, North Carolina

South Rosemary, North Carolina

South Rosemary is a census-designated place in Halifax County, North Carolina, part of the Roanoke Rapids, NC metro area. It has 2,475 residents. South Rosemary, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 10 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,066 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #422 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), public EV charging ports (high) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on homicide rate (high), drought exposure (high) and premature death (high).

10Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,066 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #422 of 458 in NC
Population: 2,475 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 404.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 3763470

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.

Safety1#15,409/15,637
Economy26#11,542/15,631
Housing52#7,245/14,977
Health3#15,099/15,609
Healthcare8#14,403/15,650
Environment75#3,882/15,453
Education7#14,587/15,649
Infrastructure13#13,622/15,650
Community24#11,945/15,651
Leisure & amenities42#9,123/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where South Rosemary, 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

Home price to income ratio · low1.8×
94/100North Carolina 4.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Public EV charging ports · high18.5 /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
Unemployment rate · low2.3%
80/100North Carolina 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

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 80%United States 43%Nov 2025–Oct 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
Lack of reliable transportation · high18.5%
4/100North Carolina 8.8%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
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

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,747 (2015-2019) → 2,475 (2020-2024)
−9.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
91.7% (2015-2019) → 16.5% (2020-2024)
−75 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
54.3% (2015-2019) → 83.4% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
43.1% (2015-2019) → 19.8% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
72.6% (2015-2019) → 60.2% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$29,785 (2015-2019) → $47,466 (2020-2024)
+59%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, South Rosemary, North Carolina improved on 6 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved6

Poverty−23 points43.1% → 19.8%
Broadband+29 points54.3% → 83.4%
Inequality−0.1220.527 → 0.405
Price / income−1.1×3.0× → 1.8×
Household income+59%$29,785 → $47,466

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of South Rosemary, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.8 min2015-2019	21.2 min2020-2024	+2.4 min	Within the margin of error	24%
Broadband subscriptions	54.3%2015-2019	83.4%2020-2024	+29 points	Improved	97%
Effective property tax rate	1.02%2015-2019	1.04%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	73.2%2015-2019	80.3%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	1.8×2020-2024	−1.1×	Improved	98%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5272015-2019	0.4052020-2024	−0.122	Improved	98%
Median household income	$29,7852015-2019	$47,4662020-2024	+59%	Improved	90%
Poverty rate	43.1%2015-2019	19.8%2020-2024	−23 points	Improved	100%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	33.5%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Rent-burdened households	72.6%2015-2019	60.2%2020-2024	−12 points	Improved	86%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.8%2015-2019	13.8%2020-2024	−3 points	Within the margin of error	76%

“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 South Rosemary, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of South Rosemary, 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, South Rosemary, North Carolina itself moved +14.6 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,475 residents (±502)

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

1,159 households (±206)

South Rosemary, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k27%†317
$25k–50k30%†353
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,159 households (±206)

South Rosemary, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own77%890
Rent23%†269

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+19.8 points).

† 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

1,173 workers (±293)

South Rosemary, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone66%773
Carpool1.0%†12
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 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 South Rosemary'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 $350.6K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in South Rosemary, North Carolina: $142 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $350.6K; +28% vs FY2025
Per resident: $142; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.7%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$339.7K97%
Department of the Army$10.8K3.1%
Defense Logistics Agency$12.940.0%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

359.1KFY2017
329.4KFY2018
206.8KFY2019
231KFY2020
342.2KFY2021
378.2KFY2022
197.5KFY2023
333.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Consumer goods rental · 5322$339.7K97%
Special food services · 7223$10.8K3.1%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$12.940.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 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 South Rosemary, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

South Rosemary, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Halifax County, NC ($3.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 9.4% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: South Rosemary 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.

South Rosemary, 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
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/3763470

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends