Author: John Quinterno, Census Liaison/State Data Center Coordinator
Between 2015-19 and 2020-24, the typical North Carolina renter experienced a sharp rise in their monthly costs while the typical homeowner saw a slight decline. Key changes include:
- The inflation-adjusted gross rent paid by the typical renter rose 10% from 2015-19.
- About 40% of renters in 2020-24 spent at least 35% of their income on housing in 2020-24, up from 38.4% in 2015-19.
- The inflation-adjusted housing costs paid by the typical homeowner in North Carolina went down 3% from 2015-19.
- Costs for households with a mortgage rose by 0.9% compared to 2025-19, while costs for households without a mortgage were unchanged.
These findings come from the latest version of the American Community Survey (ACS), which is the U.S. Census Bureau’s premier source of social, economic, housing, and demographic data. This release covers the five-year period spanning 2020-24 and contains data for North Carolina and all its counties, municipalities, and sub-county statistical areas. The ACS is a primary source of reliable information about local housing conditions.
The Typical Housing Unit Is Occupied by a Homeowner with a Mortgage
Approximately 88 of every 100 housing units in North Carolina were occupied in 2020-24. Homeowners occupied two-thirds of those units, renters one-third.
Among homeowners, 61% of owner-occupants had a mortgage while 39% owned their units outright.
The share of owner-occupied homes in North Carolina that were owned free and clear of a mortgage rose between 2015-19 and 2020-24, climbing to 38.7% from 36.8%. A Census Bureau research summary noted an increase in the percentage of mortgage-free households in every state. Metropolitan counties in the South saw the most growth.
Renters See Costs Rise in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent Rose by 10% Statewide
The inflation-adjusted gross rent (a measure of rent plus utilities) paid by the typical renter rose to $1,228/month in 2020-24, up 10% from the 2015-19 figure of $1,116/month. In other words, half of all households paid more than $1,228 in monthly rent, and half paid less than that.
Median rents rose significantly in 30 counties, fell significantly in 14 counties, and were unchanged in 56 counties compared to 2015-19.
Among individual counties, Mecklenburg County had the highest median gross rent at $1,627/month, followed by Wake County at $1,623/month. The 20 counties with the highest rents in North Carolina are in the Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham regions or high-amenity coastal, mountain, and retirement locations.
(In each map in this post, hover over a county to see its data. “Yes” for significant change means there was a statistical change.)
At the other end of the spectrum, Tyrrell County had the lowest median rent at $644/month followed by Alleghany County at $675/month. The lowest rents are in the state’s eastern, northwestern, and far western regions.
Nearly 40% of Renter Households Considered Cost Burdened
The share of North Carolina’s renter households that spent at least 35% of their income on housing, an indicator of cost burden, rose to 39.6% in 2020-24. This is up from 38.3% in 2015-19.
At least 25% of renter households were cost burdened in 2020-24 in every county in the state. In four counties—Carteret, Hertford, Person, and Watauga—the share of cost burdened households exceeded 50%. In another 39 counties at least 40% of renter households were cost burdened (led by Orange County at 48.5%).
Costs Flat or Decline for Homeowners
Monthly Costs for Homeowners Declined by 3% Statewide and Dropped in 29 Counties
The inflation-adjusted total cost (a measure of mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities, insurance, and association fees) paid by the typical homeowner fell to $1,135/month in 2020-24. This is down 3% from the 2015-19 figure. In other words, half of all homeowners paid more than $1,135 in monthly costs, and half paid less than that.
Among individual counties, monthly costs ranged from a high of $1,524 in Orange County to a low of $529 in Jackson County. The highest monthly costs generally are in the broad Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham areas or in high-amenity coastal, mountain, and retirement locations.
Median monthly costs dropped significantly in 29 counties, rose significantly in six counties, and were unchanged in 65 counties compared to the pre-pandemic period of 2015-19.
Monthly Costs Rose Slightly for Homeowners with a Mortgage
The inflation-adjusted total cost paid by the typical homeowner with a mortgage rose to $1,631/month, up 0.9% from the 2015-19 figure of $1,617/month. In other words, half of all such homeowners paid more than $1,631 in monthly costs, and half paid less than that.
Among individual counties, monthly costs for homeowners with a mortgage ranged from a high of $2,221 in Orange County to a low of $1,122 in Graham County. As the interactive map below shows, the 20 counties with the highest monthly costs are in the Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham areas or in high-amenity coastal, mountain, and retirement locations.
Compared to the pre-pandemic period of 2015-19, median monthly costs dropped significantly in 16 counties, rose significantly in 10 counties, and held steady in 74 counties.
Monthly Costs Unchanged for Homeowners without a Mortgage
The inflation-adjusted total cost paid by the typical homeowner without a mortgage held steady at $490/month between 2015-19 and 2020-24. In other words, half of all such homeowners paid more than $490 in monthly costs, and half paid less than that.
Monthly costs for homeowners without a mortgage ranged from $713 in Orange County to $311 in Swain County.
Median monthly costs dropped significantly in 22 counties, rose significantly in seven counties, and held constant in 71 counties compared to the pre-pandemic period of 2015-19. (Note that the ACS estimates for 2020-24 do not capture the effects of the most recent round of property revaluations and tax changes that have occurred in many counties.)
Economic Conditions, COVID-era Policy Drove the Differences for Homeowners and Renters
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 dealt a series of shocks to national, state, and local housing markets that continue to ripple out in different ways for renters and homeowners.
For renters, who often have lower incomes, COVID initially led to job losses. The effects were blunted by such policies as enhanced unemployment insurance, economic impact checks, and eviction moratoria. Many households also benefited from the tight labor markets that accompanied reopening.
The end of COVID-era policies, the weakening of the labor market, and rising costs have stressed many renter households. These factors have contributed to the state’s increasing share of cost burdened renters.
Homeowners experienced the pandemic differently. Low interest rates enabled existing homeowners to refinance into cheaper loans. A recent review from the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise noted housing demand surged during the pandemic due to low interest rates, wage growth, and remote work and schooling that created a need for more living space. Remote work also enabled people to move to desirable places like North Carolina. Housing demand led to a surge in prices that is only starting to recede, according to the Kenan Institute.
Unlike renters, homeowners typically are shielded from year-to-year fluctuations in costs since most homeowners with a mortgage pay a fixed monthly amount for principal and interest. At the same time, all homeowners must pay for property taxes, insurance, association fees, and utilities—all of which have been rising. A 2025 analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis found that non-mortgage housing costs outpaced inflation between 2021 and 2023 and accounted for all the changes in housing costs for the average U.S. owner with a mortgage.
Many North Carolina homeowners devote large share of their incomes to housing costs. In 2020-24, some 19.3% of homeowners were cost burdened. The rate was 23.1% for homeowners with a mortgage and 10.8% for those without a mortgage.
Because the local ACS estimates lag current conditions by a few years, current conditions for renters and homeowners may differ notably from those documented in 2020-24. Greater insight into the recent trends will come this fall when the Census Bureau reports 2025 housing and income data for the state and its most populous counties.
How to Interpret ACS Data for 2020-24
Remember four points when using ACS data to avoid mistaken interpretations:
- The published values are period estimates collected over a 60-month period, which makes them more like a representative value instead of a count on a specific day.
- Each published value is a point estimate with a specified margin of error. A user can be 90 % confident that the true value is in the range bounded by the margin of error.
- When comparing five-year ACS estimates, only compare periods that have no overlapping years; for the 2020-24 estimates, the direct comparison period is 2015-19.
- The 2020-24 ACS estimates reflect the effects of temporary social programs enacted during the pandemic. Since most programs have ended, current conditions may differ.