Town · Stanly County, North Carolina

Stanfield, North Carolina

Stanfield is a town in Stanly County, North Carolina, part of the Albemarle, NC metro area. It has 1,522 residents. Stanfield, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 19 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,667 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #358 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), voter turnout (high) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), drought exposure (high) and average weekly wage (low).

19Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,667 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #358 of 458 in NC
Population: 1,522 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 340.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3764460

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.

Safety16#13,103/15,637
Economy38#9,642/15,631
Housing24#11,390/14,977
Health25#11,698/15,609
Healthcare15#13,318/15,650
Environment42#9,013/15,453
Education26#11,654/15,649
Infrastructure14#13,430/15,650
Community80#3,152/15,651
Leisure & amenities39#9,602/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Social associations · high16.0 /10k
94/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStanly County value
Voter turnout · high75.1%
86/100North Carolina 72.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionStanly County value
Mammography screening · high51.0%
76/100North Carolina 50.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStanly County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100North Carolina 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyStanly County value
Comfortable days · high29.4%
75/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationStanly County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.66%
74/100North Carolina 0.66%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100North Carolina 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Drought exposure · high94%
5/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAStanly County value
Average weekly wage · low$916
7/100North Carolina $1,376United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStanly County value
Firearm deaths · high24.4 /100k
7/100North Carolina 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataStanly County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,038 /100k
8/100North Carolina 2,742 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStanly County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100North Carolina 9.9United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationStanly County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,264 (2015-2019) → 1,522 (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
33.8% (2015-2019) → 72.8% (2020-2024)
+39 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
25.6% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.6× (2015-2019) → 4.2× (2020-2024)
+61%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
5.8% (2015-2019) → 17.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateWorsening
2.6% (2015-2019) → 10.1% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Stanfield, North Carolina improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 8 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined3

Rent / income+25 points25.6% → 51.0%
Uninsured+11 points5.8% → 17.2%
Price / income+1.6×2.6× → 4.2×

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Stanfield, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	33.6 min2015-2019	33.9 min2020-2024	+0.3 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	24.0%2015-2019	19.0%2020-2024	−5 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Broadband subscriptions	86.5%2015-2019	84.9%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Effective property tax rate	0.93%2015-2019	0.66%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
High school diploma or higher	88.8%2015-2019	87.6%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+1.6×	Declined	7%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3932015-2019	0.4452020-2024	+0.051	Within the margin of error	16%
Median household income	$77,1882015-2019	$79,2502020-2024	+2.7%	Within the margin of error	9%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	25.6%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+25 points	Declined	1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.8%2015-2019	17.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	2%

“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 Stanfield, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Stanfield, 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, Stanfield, North Carolina itself moved −25.1 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

1,522 residents (±297)

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

611 households (±116)

Stanfield, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k23%†143
$25k–50k11%†70
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

611 households (±116)

Stanfield, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own80%491
Rent20%†120

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

715 workers (±161)

Stanfield, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone79%563
Carpool11%†82
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 Albemarle, 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 Stanly County, the county holding most of Stanfield's residents.

Stanly County has 1,459 employer establishments, 222 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248; 0.93× North Carolina's), with 18,013 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,124. The Census Bureau also counts 5,225 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,459; 5,225 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 222; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 18,013
Average annual pay: $43,124; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	149	22.6	1.46×More than typical	913	$52,141	536
Restaurants and other eating places	113	17.2	0.93×About typical	1,975	$16,780	23
Religious organizations	89	13.5	2.44×More than typical	288	$22,681	—
Ambulatory health care services	72	10.9	0.52×Fewer than typical	752	$67,205	168
Building equipment contractors	68	10.3	1.72×More than typical	435	$52,526	91
Services to buildings and dwellings	54	8.2	1.22×About typical	318	$35,145	472
Full-service restaurants	53	8	1.05×About typical	868	$17,659	8
Construction of buildings	51	7.7	1.02×About typical	253	$64,794	225
Limited-service restaurants	51	7.7	0.97×About typical	1,003	$16,372	7
Lessors of real estate	41	6.2	0.51×Fewer than typical	83	$43,000	426
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	39	5.9	1.79×More than typical	279	$57,179	39
Automotive repair and maintenance	35	5.3	1.06×About typical	165	$39,897	147

Rank places for an industry Open Stanly County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 65,846 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 Stanfield, North Carolina: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

2.2KFY2017

What was bought

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

Stanfield, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Stanly County, NC ($2.3M 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: Stanfield is mostly in Stanly County.

See federal money in Stanly 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.

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

House

Mark HarrisR-NC-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.0%

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.

Stanly County39100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Albemarle, NC33

Other cities and towns in Stanly 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/3764460

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends