Town · Alleghany County, North Carolina

Sparta, North Carolina

Sparta is a town in Alleghany County, North Carolina. It has 1,928 residents. Sparta, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 42 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,021 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #215 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), gyms and fitness centers (high) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on dentists (low), uninsured residents (under 65) (high) and average weekly wage (low).

42Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,021 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #215 of 458 in NC
Population: 1,928 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 820.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 3763680

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety21#12,291/15,637
Economy20#12,463/15,631
Housing42#8,729/14,977
Health25#11,726/15,609
Healthcare20#12,565/15,650
Environment99#115/15,453
Education49#7,926/15,649
Infrastructure34#10,363/15,650
Community64#5,622/15,651
Leisure & amenities97#488/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Hot days · low0 days
99/100North Carolina 32 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAlleghany County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.6 /10k
98/100North Carolina 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlleghany County value
Grocery stores · high2.6 /10k
91/100North Carolina 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlleghany County value
Average commute time · low15.0 min
89/100North Carolina 25.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.0 /10k
87/100North Carolina 4.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlleghany County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100North Carolina 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlleghany County value

Weaknesses

Dentists · low9 /100k
1/100North Carolina 62 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlleghany County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high28.6%
4/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Average weekly wage · low$903
6/100North Carolina $1,376United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlleghany County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100North Carolina 11.5United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAlleghany County value
Median household income · low$42,454
8/100North Carolina $74,055United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Poverty rate · high21.5%
14/100North Carolina 12.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,630 (2015-2019) → 1,928 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
47.8% (2015-2019) → 31.4% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
14.1% (2015-2019) → 28.6% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.0% (2015-2019) → 78.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
11.3% (2015-2019) → 21.3% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$28,553 (2015-2019) → $42,454 (2020-2024)
+49%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, Sparta, North Carolina improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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++10 points11.3% → 21.3%
Household income+49%$28,553 → $42,454

Declined1

Uninsured+15 points14.1% → 28.6%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Sparta, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.8 min2015-2019	15.0 min2020-2024	−8.8 min	Within the margin of error	97%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.3%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	90%
Broadband subscriptions	65.0%2015-2019	78.2%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Child poverty rate	47.8%2015-2019	31.4%2020-2024	−16 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Effective property tax rate	0.79%2015-2019	0.61%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	54%
High school diploma or higher	74.9%2015-2019	80.9%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	4.9×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4692015-2019	0.4052020-2024	−0.064	Within the margin of error	89%
Median household income	$28,5532015-2019	$42,4542020-2024	+49%	Improved	83%
Poverty rate	26.9%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	31.3%2015-2019	31.1%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	53.8%2015-2019	54.2%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.1%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	+15 points	Declined	1%

“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 Sparta, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sparta, 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, Sparta, North Carolina itself moved +12.7 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

1,928 residents (±324)

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

957 households (±178)

Sparta, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k33%†316
$25k–50k32%†310
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

957 households (±178)

Sparta, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own58%557
Rent42%†400

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

684 workers (±165)

Sparta, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone55%†379
Carpool20%†136
Public transit

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 Alleghany County, the county holding most of Sparta's residents.

Alleghany County has 257 employer establishments, 227 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 0.96× North Carolina's), with 2,163 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,066. The Census Bureau also counts 1,012 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 257; 1,012 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 227; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 2,163
Average annual pay: $39,066; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	29	25.6	1.65×More than typical	58	$41,448	130
Construction of buildings	21	18.5	2.45×More than typical	82	$42,902	68
Restaurants and other eating places	19	16.8	0.91×About typical	200	$15,735	—
Ambulatory health care services	18	15.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	160	$34,988	32
Building equipment contractors	14	12.4	2.05×More than typical	31	$44,323	23
Full-service restaurants	10	8.8	1.15×About typical	80	$17,875	—
Lessors of real estate	10	8.8	0.72×Fewer than typical	17	$22,353	106
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	7.9	1.58×Too few to compare	15	$34,267	24
Other specialty trade contractors	9	7.9	3.16×Too few to compare	11	$40,727	36
Religious organizations	9	7.9	1.43×Too few to compare	28	$20,929	—
Limited-service restaurants	8	7.1	0.88×Too few to compare	120	$13,192	—
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	8	7.1	2.14×Too few to compare	23	$41,130	10

Rank places for an industry Open Alleghany County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,332 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 Sparta, North Carolina: $0 per resident (US $2,008).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $2,008
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

KOVILIC CONSTRUCTION CO INC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

108.2FY2017
3.7KFY2018
6.8KFY2019
6KFY2020
4.3KFY2022
243.8KFY2023
0FY2024
57.5KFY2025
0

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 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 Sparta, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Sparta, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Alleghany County, NC ($4.5M 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: Sparta is mostly in Alleghany County.

See federal money in Alleghany 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.

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

House

Virginia FoxxR-NC-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.4%

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.

Alleghany County46100% of residents

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/3763680

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends