The 10 Worst Small Towns In North Carolina For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in NC are the pits.

Sam Sparkes, RoadSnacks
April 7, 2022 - 63,303 views
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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the worst small places to live in North Carolina.

Most Americans have never been to North Carolina. However, as the people who live there know, North Carolina is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, North Carolina has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Tar Heel State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 297 of North Carolina's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in North Carolina where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in North Carolina for 2022:

  1. South Henderson
  2. South Rosemary
  3. Chadbourn
  4. Yanceyville
  5. Garland
  6. Enfield
  7. Robbins
  8. Gaston
  9. Magnolia
  10. Alliance

So what is the worst small town to call home in North Carolina for 2022? According to the most recent census data, South Henderson is the worst small town to live in North Carolina.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since North Carolina has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in North Carolina or the worst places to live in North Carolina.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In North Carolina For 2022

1. South Henderson

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,055
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $37,400 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 25.1% (2nd worst)
More on South Henderson:  Data

2. South Rosemary

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,831
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 12)
Median Home Value: $95,200 (63rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 9.5% (5worst)
More on South Rosemary:  Data

3. Chadbourn

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 2,038
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $61,700 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.9% (22nd worst)
More on Chadbourn:  Data

4. Yanceyville

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,830
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 6)
Median Home Value: $93,200 (60th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.8% (24th worst)
More on Yanceyville:  Data

5. Garland

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,166
Rank Last Year: -
Median Home Value: $93,100 (58th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (85th worst)
More on Garland:  Data

6. Enfield

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 2,348
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $60,500 (4th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 17.5% (7th worst)
More on Enfield:  Data

7. Robbins

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,615
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $81,800 (30th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 11.4% (3worst)
More on Robbins:  Data

8. Gaston

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,290
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 6)
Median Home Value: $70,400 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 21.8% (4th worst)
More on Gaston:  Data

9. Magnolia

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,274
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $52,500 (3rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.9% (7worst)
More on Magnolia:  Data

10. Alliance

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,104
Rank Last Year: -
Median Home Value: $97,500 (66th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.8% (39th worst)
More on Alliance:  Data

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in North Carolina, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in North Carolina for 2022

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2016-2020 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 297 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In North Carolina

If you're analyzing teeny places in the Tar Heel State with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in North Carolina, according to science:

  1. Royal Pines (Pop. 4,499)
  2. Trent Woods (Pop. 4,043)
  3. Fearrington Village (Pop. 2,692)

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In North Carolina

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 South Henderson 1,055 25.1% $37,400
2 South Rosemary 2,831 9.5% $95,200
3 Chadbourn 2,038 12.9% $61,700
4 Yanceyville 2,830 12.8% $93,200
5 Garland 1,166 7.4% $93,100
6 Enfield 2,348 17.5% $60,500
7 Robbins 1,615 11.4% $81,800
8 Gaston 1,290 21.8% $70,400
9 Magnolia 1,274 7.9% $52,500
10 Alliance 1,104 10.8% $97,500
11 Laurel Hill 1,117 19.8% $80,200
12 Red Springs 3,291 9.2% $63,200
13 Bonnetsville 1,315 1.3% $82,000
14 Andrews 1,915 19.7% $88,000
15 Weldon 1,668 11.3% $86,700
16 East Rockingham 3,338 14.5% $68,000
17 Tabor City 4,038 6.1% $81,600
18 Maxton 2,614 15.7% $77,100
19 Rocky Point 1,644 6.8% $179,600
20 Belhaven 1,239 9.5% $83,500
21 Patterson Springs 1,012 7.2% $80,000
22 Brogden 2,306 6.9% $79,100
23 Pembroke 2,997 9.3% $88,800
24 Rowland 1,130 13.3% $69,100
25 Plymouth 3,432 5.0% $87,500
26 Faison 1,182 7.6% $79,100
27 Ellerbe 1,032 10.9% $77,000
28 St. Pauls 2,114 6.5% $84,100
29 Marshville 2,748 14.4% $109,500
30 Candor 1,173 0.9% $100,900
31 Spindale 4,193 10.8% $83,000
32 Enochville 3,358 11.7% $120,800
33 Franklinville 1,451 3.7% $81,500
34 Fairplains 1,757 4.0% $108,500
35 Flat Rock 1,003 3.8% $88,800
36 Brunswick 1,128 4.5% $115,400
37 Chocowinity 1,331 28.2% $69,300
38 Mount Gilead 1,202 9.2% $120,200
39 Spring Hope 1,459 12.9% $107,100
40 Scotland Neck 1,770 4.1% $65,900
41 Maury 1,362 11.9% $77,800
42 Sharpsburg 1,418 8.7% $83,700
43 Bayboro 1,242 2.3% $78,600
44 Sylva 2,696 10.0% $162,900
45 East Spencer 1,382 11.5% $74,500
46 Cricket 2,453 2.6% $110,700
47 Ahoskie 4,819 13.1% $92,400
48 Mayodan 2,352 11.7% $82,700
49 Beulaville 1,666 7.1% $87,400
50 Snow Hill 2,257 6.5% $91,800
51 Liberty 2,657 6.1% $116,300
52 North Wilkesboro 4,139 8.0% $156,800
53 Badin 1,976 7.1% $87,100
54 Grifton 2,873 11.2% $82,300
55 Troy 3,293 7.4% $125,000
56 West Jefferson 1,767 12.4% $144,700
57 Kenly 2,385 6.4% $108,300
58 Navassa 2,135 11.0% $137,300
59 Jonesville 2,513 2.7% $99,700
60 Millers Creek 1,461 3.1% $134,600
61 Rose Hill 2,014 8.6% $89,700
62 Murphy 1,855 9.1% $166,800
63 Connelly Springs 2,272 11.0% $106,200
64 Elm City 1,701 15.1% $84,200
65 Saxapahaw 1,340 14.7% $132,100
66 Hertford 2,126 10.0% $141,200
67 Silver City 1,092 0.0% $86,700
68 Elizabet 3,424 0.0% $118,100
69 Jefferson 1,609 5.1% $160,900
70 River Road 3,578 9.0% $172,100
71 Biscoe 2,722 1.4% $107,700
72 Sneads Ferry 2,326 16.0% $153,900
73 Salem 1,479 7.4% $128,800
74 Ramseur 2,048 5.9% $100,000
75 Pilot Mountain 1,635 6.1% $140,500
76 Princeton 1,396 6.1% $116,000
77 Windsor 3,422 5.1% $105,900
78 Elkin 3,968 4.6% $148,500
79 Princeville 2,013 6.3% $77,600
80 Fairmont 2,622 5.1% $88,500
81 Bladenboro 2,063 10.0% $80,600
82 Gamewell 3,874 10.1% $107,800
83 Roseboro 1,048 5.8% $90,000
84 Star 1,327 2.3% $111,700
85 Elroy 4,114 6.6% $95,100
86 Sparta 1,878 1.0% $142,200
87 Calabash 2,057 9.8% $138,000
88 Denton 1,355 6.7% $99,200
89 Mount Olive 4,670 4.4% $98,200
90 Warsaw 3,108 3.5% $68,600
91 Spruce Pine 2,221 3.3% $160,100
92 Wilson's Mills 2,698 3.1% $163,900
93 Norwood 2,831 9.9% $127,900
94 Bethel 1,987 9.7% $75,600
95 Spencer 3,227 7.9% $112,300
96 Raeford 4,943 5.2% $130,000
97 Long View 4,898 9.3% $103,700
98 Green Level 2,541 1.4% $93,600
99 Vanceboro 1,070 4.2% $97,100
100 Wrightsboro 4,788 8.9% $144,900
Download The Entire North Carolina Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

 Worst