Lenoir, North Carolina
2026 Edition · 10 cards · data as of Oct 30, 2026
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Population
Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.
18,372
people, the 60th-largest of North Carolina's cities and towns.
Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among North Carolina's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates
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The workday
8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.
84.7%
of 12,550 jobs located in Lenoir are filled by in-commuters.
Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES
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Rent
Median rent is up 19% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.
$664
a month. North Carolina's median is $1,228.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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The seam
Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $380.
A $380 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Caldwell County.
- $711 Tract 307
- $1,091 Tract 308.01
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Room to build
Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.
$946–$1,419
is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.
- $664 median
Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year
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Building
Most of the housing here is older than 2000.
- 89% of all homes were built before 2000
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Units needed
Closing the gap would add 0.3–1.4% to the 9,047 homes here.
27–126
is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.
Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac
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Home value
A median home costs 38% less than North Carolina's.
$179,400
median home value in Lenoir.
- $179,400 Lenoir
- $288,900 North Carolina
- $332,700 U.S.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year