Census-designated place · Alexander County, North Carolina

Stony Point, North Carolina

Stony Point is a census-designated place in Alexander County, North Carolina, part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area. It has 1,372 residents. Stony Point, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 39 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,589 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #226 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), poverty rate (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), restaurants and bars (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

39Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,589 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #226 of 458 in NC
Population: 1,372 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 460.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3765260

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety24#11,934/15,637
Economy67#5,085/15,631
Housing—
Health23#11,968/15,609
Healthcare23#12,058/15,650
Environment89#1,742/15,453
Education53#7,326/15,649
Infrastructure38#9,773/15,650
Community63#5,739/15,651
Leisure & amenities5#14,911/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100North Carolina 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Poverty rate · low1.7%
97/100North Carolina 12.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Social associations · high15.4 /10k
92/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlexander County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.3%
92/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Child care cost burden · low22.6%
86/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlexander County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100North Carolina 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlexander County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.3 /10k
0/100North Carolina 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlexander County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.5 /10k
3/100North Carolina 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlexander County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100North Carolina 5.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyAlexander County value
Primary care physicians · low19 /100k
4/100North Carolina 71 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlexander County value
Dentists · low22 /100k
5/100North Carolina 62 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlexander County value
Average weekly wage · low$917
7/100North Carolina $1,376United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlexander County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,527 (2015-2019) → 1,372 (2020-2024)
−10%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
70.7% (2015-2019) → 90.3% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$38,333 (2015-2019) → $73,209 (2020-2024)
+91%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
38.9% (2015-2019) → 21.0% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
17.2% (2015-2019) → 1.3% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
5.3% (2015-2019) → 17.3% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Stony Point, North Carolina improved on 1 of 7 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.

Improved1

Household income+91%$38,333 → $73,209

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 7 measures

Change of every measure of Stony Point, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Broadband subscriptions	70.7%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+20 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	89.3%2015-2019	91.4%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	−0.9×	Within the margin of error	97%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3382015-2019	0.3952020-2024	+0.056	Within the margin of error	14%
Median household income	$38,3332015-2019	$73,2092020-2024	+91%	Improved	98%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Stony Point, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Stony Point, 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.

No place that looked like Stony Point, North Carolina five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Stony Point, North Carolina itself moved +16.9 points in standing on average over the same 5 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

1,372 residents (±583)

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

585 households (±222)

Stony Point, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k2.1%†12
$25k–50k25%†146
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

585 households (±222)

Stony Point, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own89%†523
Rent11%†62

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

707 workers (±392)

Stony Point, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone88%†620
Carpool8.8%†62
Public transit

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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, 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 Alexander County, the county holding most of Stony Point's residents.

Alexander County has 598 employer establishments, 164 for every 10,000 residents (0.66× the US rate of 248; 0.69× North Carolina's), with 8,199 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,942. The Census Bureau also counts 2,756 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 598; 2,756 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 164; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 8,199
Average annual pay: $37,942; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	60	16.5	1.07×About typical	204	$46,422	316
Religious organizations	56	15.4	2.77×More than typical	342	$19,363	—
Restaurants and other eating places	40	11	0.60×Fewer than typical	649	$16,867	10
Automotive repair and maintenance	29	8	1.58×More than typical	84	$35,571	83
Ambulatory health care services	27	7.4	0.36×Fewer than typical	255	$53,200	86
Truck transportation	25	6.9	1.36×More than typical	201	$46,552	84
Building equipment contractors	20	5.5	0.91×About typical	105	$43,990	49
Construction of buildings	19	5.2	0.69×Fewer than typical	48	$57,625	131
Limited-service restaurants	19	5.2	0.65×Fewer than typical	368	$16,193	—
Full-service restaurants	18	4.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	251	$18,566	3
Lessors of real estate	18	4.9	0.40×Fewer than typical	26	$26,308	192
Services to buildings and dwellings	15	4.1	0.61×Fewer than typical	67	$44,522	252

Rank places for an industry Open Alexander County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 36,387 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 Stony Point, North Carolina: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
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

177.6FY2017
519.8FY2019

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Stony Point, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Stony Point, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Alexander County, NC and Iredell County, NC ($77.3M 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: Stony Point is mostly in Alexander County.

See federal money in Alexander 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.

Stony Point, North Carolina is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

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.

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC46

Other cities and towns in Alexander 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/3765260

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends