Roanoke Rapids is home to 14,856 people in North Carolina. 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, below the 36% national rate. Owners hold 50% of the housing stock. Home values have more than doubled since 2000, reaching $142,700. 4% of people here were born outside the United States. That trails the North Carolina median by roughly 26%.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $53,690, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Mid-age
median age 40.3
US median: 38.9
Less educated
22% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Stable housing
home values roughly flat, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Roanoke Rapids
What changed most since 1990
Black share17.3% → 37.0%(+19.7 pts)US over the same years: +0.2 pts
White share81.3% → 50.1%(−31.2 pts)US over the same years: −17.8 pts
Homes owned by their occupants62.3% → 49.9%(−12.3 pts)US over the same years: +0.9 pts
Roanoke Rapids's population equals 31% of Halifax County's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 42% of the county's. Its number of households without a car equals 23% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)15.1%(134)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)22%(195)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era27.6%(245)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War5.4%(48)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II1.2%(11)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 888 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Roanoke Rapids, decade by decade
Roanoke Rapids population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
15,722
$53,464
$116,643
11.8%
38.6
2000
16,957
$52,363
$132,252
15.0%
53.2
2010
15,754
$51,648
$153,352
15.5%
63.8
2020
15,229
$46,663
$130,173
20.3%
69.8
2024
14,856
$53,690
$142,700
22.0%
75.6
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
