The 10 Most Boring Places In North Carolina For 2023


The most boring places in North Carolina are Sawmills and Oak Ridge for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in North Carolina that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.

Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Tar Heel State are so lucky.

Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within North Carolina’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.

Like Sawmills, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Oklahoma according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Sawmills. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in North Carolina as well.

Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.

Don’t freak out, in fact, believe it not, a boring city is actually one a lot of people would like to call home.

Before you get all upset if your city’s name is on the list, rest assured that we didn’t use personal opinion when it comes to what classifies a city or town as “boring” or “exciting”. We crunched actual numbers to figure out which towns are statistically more boring.

Showing this data to you is the kind of thing that a real estate agent knows, but would never share.

For more North Carolina reading, check out:


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Most Boring Places In North Carolina For 2023

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 5,026
Average Age: 47.5
% Married: 33.0%
More on Sawmills: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Oak Ridge, NC

Source: Wikipedia User Ceh2624 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 7,637
Average Age: 46.8
% Married: 24.0%
More on Oak Ridge: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Butner, NC

Source: Wikipedia User Ildar Sagdejev (Specious) | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 8,374
Average Age: 41.2
% Married: 23.0%
More on Butner: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10
Population: 5,900
Average Age: 42.4
% Married: 25.0%
More on Stokesdale: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Oak Island, NC

Source: Wikipedia User User:Dincher | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10
Population: 8,564
Average Age: 60.7
% Married: 27.0%
More on Oak Island: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Mint Hill, NC

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10
Population: 26,537
Average Age: 45.7
% Married: 21.0%
More on Mint Hill: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

King, NC

Source: Flickr User jjandames | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10
Population: 7,210
Average Age: 43.7
% Married: 38.0%
More on King: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Tarboro, NC

Source: Flickr User RegulusAlpha | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10
Population: 10,696
Average Age: 48.2
% Married: 28.0%
More on Tarboro: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Unionville, NC

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 6,694
Average Age: 39.7
% Married: 40.0%
More on Unionville: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10
Population: 7,100
Average Age: 43.5
% Married: 22.0%
More on Mills River: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Tar Heel State

You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in North Carolina. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.

Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.

To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.

We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. HSome of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:

  • % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
  • % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
  • Average Age (higher is more boring)
  • % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
  • Population density (lower is more boring)

Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.

For this ranking, we used every North Carolina city with at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.

Grab your rocker and hold on.

We updated this article for 2023, and it’s our tenth time ranking the most boring cities in North Carolina.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since North Carolina isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in North Carolina, according to science:

  1. Boone
  2. Chapel Hill
  3. Elon

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In North Carolina For 2023

Rank City Population Average Age % Married % Kids
1 Sawmills, NC 5,026 47.5 33.0% 30.6%
2 Oak Ridge, NC 7,637 46.8 24.0% 36.9%
3 Butner, NC 8,374 41.2 23.0% 36.9%
4 Stokesdale, NC 5,900 42.4 25.0% 46.1%
5 Oak Island, NC 8,564 60.7 27.0% 10.4%
6 Mint Hill, NC 26,537 45.7 21.0% 32.8%
7 King, NC 7,210 43.7 38.0% 33.1%
8 Tarboro, NC 10,696 48.2 28.0% 27.8%
9 Unionville, NC 6,694 39.7 40.0% 32.5%
10 Mills River, NC 7,100 43.5 22.0% 32.7%
11 Boiling Spring Lakes, NC 6,032 47.5 20.0% 22.4%
12 Trinity, NC 7,012 42.2 31.0% 27.7%
13 Summerfield, NC 10,986 45.1 18.0% 33.0%
14 Lewisville, NC 13,509 40.8 27.0% 35.7%
15 Fletcher, NC 8,000 46.6 30.0% 19.8%
16 Mount Airy, NC 10,621 46.6 20.0% 26.5%
17 Newton, NC 13,173 43.7 24.0% 28.2%
18 Albemarle, NC 16,444 39.7 24.0% 30.4%
19 Waynesville, NC 10,307 47.3 22.0% 22.9%
20 Ayden, NC 5,002 44.7 36.0% 27.4%
21 Clinton, NC 8,362 41.8 22.0% 31.4%
22 Weddington, NC 13,173 43.5 16.0% 50.4%
23 Williamston, NC 5,224 45.5 25.0% 28.2%
24 Conover, NC 8,457 39.9 22.0% 41.0%
25 Leland, NC 24,473 47.1 16.0% 23.5%
26 Nashville, NC 5,624 40.7 29.0% 29.9%
27 Rolesville, NC 9,696 39.9 24.0% 56.7%
28 Shelby, NC 21,712 43.4 23.0% 26.4%
29 Washington, NC 9,759 46.2 26.0% 23.5%
30 Hillsborough, NC 9,534 44.1 16.0% 29.9%
31 Archdale, NC 11,873 46.1 27.0% 26.3%
32 Lexington, NC 19,595 38.6 20.0% 34.1%
33 Cramerton, NC 5,294 35.3 33.0% 32.0%
34 Cherryville, NC 6,113 37.4 35.0% 39.0%
35 Pinehurst, NC 17,653 60.3 14.0% 17.1%
36 Reidsville, NC 14,526 42.3 20.0% 29.6%
37 Lenoir, NC 18,301 43.2 23.0% 25.2%
38 Kings Mountain, NC 11,246 41.5 19.0% 27.9%
39 Marion, NC 7,652 39.4 23.0% 31.2%
40 St. James, NC 6,566 68.3 7.0% 4.9%
41 Eden, NC 15,349 39.3 26.0% 29.5%
42 Wesley Chapel, NC 8,763 41.3 13.0% 48.2%
43 Rockingham, NC 9,174 40.0 26.0% 29.4%
44 Oxford, NC 8,685 43.1 24.0% 26.6%
45 Dunn, NC 8,549 44.6 24.0% 24.8%
46 Smithfield, NC 11,527 41.9 18.0% 27.7%
47 Black Mountain, NC 8,430 60.4 15.0% 16.8%
48 Woodfin, NC 7,901 42.3 14.0% 17.1%
49 Aberdeen, NC 8,674 36.4 18.0% 32.9%
50 Mount Holly, NC 17,644 37.7 22.0% 32.7%
51 Statesville, NC 28,576 38.3 18.0% 32.0%
52 Gibsonville, NC 8,827 40.3 28.0% 33.1%
53 Clemmons, NC 21,281 42.4 22.0% 28.2%
54 Long View, NC 5,029 38.7 22.0% 26.6%
55 Dallas, NC 5,889 38.9 21.0% 37.7%
56 Huntersville, NC 61,202 39.8 12.0% 39.1%
57 Morganton, NC 17,457 37.7 19.0% 34.2%
58 Belmont, NC 14,842 37.9 19.0% 28.4%
59 Roanoke Rapids, NC 15,143 40.5 25.0% 31.1%
60 New Bern, NC 31,373 40.4 15.0% 26.7%
61 Hamlet, NC 6,043 37.3 25.0% 36.2%
62 Thomasville, NC 27,130 37.8 28.0% 32.5%
63 Carolina Beach, NC 6,583 51.3 19.0% 16.6%
64 Roxboro, NC 8,131 40.7 15.0% 28.9%
65 Marvin, NC 6,421 40.6 9.0% 60.5%
66 Rocky Mount, NC 54,260 40.4 22.0% 27.7%
67 Mocksville, NC 5,908 34.2 20.0% 31.0%
68 Kill Devil Hills, NC 7,658 48.1 11.0% 16.9%
69 Kinston, NC 19,704 44.1 17.0% 24.8%
70 Southern Pines, NC 15,701 38.4 13.0% 22.4%
71 Brevard, NC 7,777 49.7 13.0% 20.3%
72 Mebane, NC 17,899 36.6 18.0% 37.2%
73 Gastonia, NC 80,615 37.8 23.0% 32.4%
74 Wilson, NC 47,767 38.8 25.0% 29.6%
75 Stallings, NC 16,193 39.8 18.0% 37.2%
76 Kannapolis, NC 53,314 37.0 20.0% 34.7%
77 Angier, NC 5,348 41.0 18.0% 24.5%
78 Sanford, NC 30,373 34.6 19.0% 39.0%
79 Lumberton, NC 19,099 37.2 20.0% 32.4%
80 Wendell, NC 10,575 38.2 19.0% 28.2%
81 Graham, NC 17,136 36.8 20.0% 29.3%
82 Laurinburg, NC 14,971 38.1 21.0% 30.9%
83 Hendersonville, NC 15,102 52.2 12.0% 17.2%
84 Zebulon, NC 7,421 35.6 14.0% 35.2%
85 Hickory, NC 43,352 37.9 20.0% 29.9%
86 Matthews, NC 29,613 39.5 13.0% 30.3%
87 Lincolnton, NC 11,225 36.0 22.0% 31.3%
88 Winterville, NC 10,510 39.6 23.0% 29.8%
89 Concord, NC 105,335 37.3 16.0% 37.2%
90 Cornelius, NC 31,396 44.3 10.0% 28.8%
91 Kernersville, NC 27,177 39.0 20.0% 24.2%
92 Waxhaw, NC 20,665 35.7 8.0% 63.1%
93 Wake Forest, NC 48,047 39.0 13.0% 40.6%
94 Burlington, NC 56,951 39.9 19.0% 27.5%
95 Garner, NC 31,684 37.3 18.0% 28.6%
96 Wadesboro, NC 5,004 38.3 18.0% 27.2%
97 Harrisburg, NC 18,934 36.4 13.0% 49.8%
98 Monroe, NC 34,897 36.1 12.0% 36.2%
99 Knightdale, NC 19,127 35.5 16.0% 38.1%
100 Clayton, NC 26,837 32.6 15.0% 40.5%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

2 thoughts on “The 10 Most Boring Places In North Carolina For 2023

  1. Sorry my friend but you are way off on this subject with some of the places listed. What are your sources? For example take a look at towns like Rocky Mount in the eastern part of the state. The downtown district which was once the economic center of eastern North Carolina is now a ghost town. The once impressive turn of the century Victorian buildings are boarded up and laying vacant. You totally missed the boat on this article.

  2. Raleigh is a wonderful place to live if you have moved here from a small town. However, if you have moved from a large city, NY, LA, Chicago, etc., this town is a joke. Fast food restaurants every where you look, chain restaurants, way too many bars and breweries and Sushi restaurants, bad Chinese food, bad mexican food, way too many parks and walkways. To top it all off, they keep trying to become a ‘little’ NY. They call one of the shopping/living areas, Midtown. Really? They have Midtown diner also, which is nothing but overcooked carbs that the natives just love. The road system cannot keep up with the demand of newcomers (from small towns, I suppose), and traffic is a nightmare most of the time. They tax you for everything. Groceries, your car – EACH YEAR, they also charge a ‘sin tax’ for alcohol and cigarettes that is added to the already almost 8% tax rate.

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