Salisbury, North Carolina

Population

Growing. Up 4.7% since 2020.

36,879

people, the 30th-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

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

87.3%

of 29,745 jobs located in Salisbury are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in April: 4.0%.

4.2%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 5.0%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 63% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,071

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

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $837 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Rowan County.

• $500 Tract 502.01
• $1,337 Tract 520

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

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$961–$1,442

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,071 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

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 77% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.5–1.9% to the 15,637 homes here.

74–297

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 16% less than North Carolina's.

$242,500

median home value in Salisbury.

• $242,500 Salisbury
• $288,900 North Carolina
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year