Micro area · North Carolina
Sanford, NC micropolitan area
Sanford, NC is a micropolitan area of 1 county in North Carolina, home to 70,258 residents. Sanford, NC micropolitan area has a quality-of-life score of 32 out of 100 (low), ranking #626 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in North Carolina it ranks #23 of 38. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), new homes permitted (high) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), drought exposure (high) and drug overdose deaths (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #626 of 925 metro and micro areas
- North Carolina
- #23 of 38 in NC
- Population
- 70,258 (2025)
- Land area
- 255 mi²
- Density
- 275.4 /mi²
- CBSA code
- 41820
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 66 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.
- Safety41#550/924
- Economy57#394/925
- Housing64#334/925
- Health36#592/925
- Healthcare28#666/923
- Environment46#498/917
- Education32#633/925
- Infrastructure7#857/925
- Community37#580/925
- Leisure & amenities49#468/925
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Sanford, NC micropolitan area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Child care cost burden · low20.5%94/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- New homes permitted · high9.1 /1k94/100North Carolina 8.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
- Job growth · high1.9%
- Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.421
- Suicide rate · low13.1 /100k87/100North Carolina 14.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
- Social associations · high14.8 /10k85/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Weaknesses
- Broadband subscriptions · low78.1%
- Drought exposure · high88%9/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAAggregated from counties
- Drug overdose deaths · high28.3 /100k12/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
- Child poverty rate · high26.1%
- Public libraries · low0.3 /10k13/100North Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesAggregated from counties
- High school diploma or higher · low84.9%
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- PopulationRising
63,388 (2020) → 70,258 (2025)
+11%5 yearsUS 331,578,104 → 341,784,857
- Drought exposureWorsening
16% (2021) → 88% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+72 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- New homes permittedImproving
4.0 /1k (2021) → 9.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+125%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
- Access to exercise opportunitiesWorsening
75.8% (2010 & 2021) → 64.3% (2022 & 2024)
−12 pts3 yearsUS 79.8% → 84.5%
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
54.6 /100k (2021) → 28.3 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−48%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- New business applicationsImproving
10.3 /1k (2020) → 14.7 /1k (2025)
+43%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
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.
Metro and micro areas like Sanford, NC micropolitan area five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Sanford, NC micropolitan area 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
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.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Counties in Sanford, NC
Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.
Principal cities
The cities the area is named for.
Largest cities and towns
By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.
Other metro and micro areas in North Carolina
Areas based in North Carolina, best score first.
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC75
- Raleigh-Cary, NC94
- Greensboro-High Point, NC52
- Winston-Salem, NC51
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC83
- Wilmington, NC81
- Asheville, NC85
- Fayetteville, NC25
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC46
- Jacksonville, NC48
- Burlington, NC49
- Greenville, NC55
- Anderson Creek, NC24
- Rocky Mount, NC24
- New Bern, NC58
- Goldsboro, NC31
- Lumberton, NC2
- Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC84
- Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC18
- Wilson, NC22
- Mount Airy, NC31
- Morehead City, NC85
- Albemarle, NC33
- North Wilkesboro, NC28
Neighboring metro and micro areas
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar metro and micro areas
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC18Alike on Libraries, Preventable stays, Comfortable days
- Spartanburg, SC29Alike on Homicides, Injury deaths, Comfortable days
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC46Alike on New homes, Domestic migration, Premature death
- Goldsboro, NC31Alike on Child poverty, Intl. migration, Premature death
- Winston-Salem, NC51Alike on Injury deaths, Homicides, Comfortable days
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement