County · North Carolina
Richmond County, North Carolina
Richmond County, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #2,715 of 3,143 US counties. Within North Carolina it ranks #89 of 100 counties. It ranks best on distance to an Amtrak station (low), mammography screening (high) and cost of buying a home today (low). It ranks worst on property crime rate (high), premature death (high) and life expectancy (low).
- Quality-of-life score
- #2,715 of 3,143 counties
- North Carolina
- #89 of 100 in NC
- Population
- 42,041 (2025)
- Land area
- 474 mi²
- Density
- 88.8 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 37153
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US counties.
- Safety3#3,005/3,096
- Economy14#2,709/3,143
- Housing41#1,857/3,140
- Health8#2,906/3,144
- Healthcare17#2,618/3,143
- Environment55#1,404/3,108
- Education14#2,710/3,144
- Infrastructure36#2,028/3,144
- Community28#2,278/3,144
- Leisure & amenities52#1,494/3,143
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Richmond County, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US counties (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi97/100North Carolina 23 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau
- Mammography screening · high56.0%92/100North Carolina 50.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Cost of buying a home today · low21.1%
- Social associations · high15.1 /10k80/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Suicide rate · low13.2 /100k80/100North Carolina 14.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional data
- Comfortable days · high29.5%79/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Weaknesses
- Property crime rate · high3,344 /100k1/100North Carolina 1,780 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figure
- Premature death · high18,304 /100k2/100North Carolina 9,400 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Life expectancy · low68.3 yrs2/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Violent crime rate · high618 /100k5/100North Carolina 330 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figure
- Child poverty rate · high31.9%
- Injury deaths · high145 /100k6/100North Carolina 97 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- New homes permittedImproving
0.7 /1k (2021) → 4.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+472%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
- Drought exposureWorsening
17% (2021) → 79% (Nov 2025–Oct 2026)
+62 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.8% (2015-2019) → 87.4% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
86.4 /100k (2021) → 35.4 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−59%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- Firearm deathsWorsening
21.4 /100k (2021) → 33.1 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
+55%5 yearsUS 14.7 /100k → 12.1 /100k
- Child poverty rateImproving
42.7% (2019) → 31.9% (2024)
−11 pts5 yearsUS 16.8% → 15.5%
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.
Counties like Richmond County, North Carolina five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Richmond County, 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.
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.
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 Rockingham, NCLocal 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.
Public money & outcomes
Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.
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.
Metro area
The metro or micro area Richmond County belongs to. A county is in at most one.
Cities and towns in Richmond County
Places whose residents live mostly in Richmond County, largest first.
Neighboring counties
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar counties
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Halifax County, NC12Alike on Obesity, Housing problems, Bachelor's+
- Scotland County, NC7Alike on Dental shortage, Mental health shortage, Life expectancy
- Columbus County, NC8Alike on Household income, Life expectancy, Students / teacher
- Robeson County, NC2Alike on Life expectancy, PCP shortage, Dental shortage
- Anson County, NC9Alike on Dental shortage, Obesity, Housing problems
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
- National Risk IndexFederal Emergency Management Agency · release v1.20.0
- Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-09
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-10-06
- 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
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08
