Middlesex, North Carolina

Population

Growing. Up 5.5% since 2020.

975

people, the 338th-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

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

97.2%

of 467 jobs located in Middlesex are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 93% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$645

a month. North Carolina's median is $1,228.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $495.

A $495 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Nash County.

• $674 Tract 108.02
• $1,169 Tract 108.01

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$1,019–$1,528

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $645 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

Building

70% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 70% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.2–1.0% to the 479 homes here.

1–5

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

Home value

A median home costs 25% less than North Carolina's.

$216,900

median home value in Middlesex.

• $216,900 Middlesex
• $288,900 North Carolina
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year