Rocky Mount is a city of 54,297 people in North Carolina. Owners hold 49% of the housing stock. Four-year degrees are less common here than nationally, at 23% of adults. The typical home is worth $165,700, having more than doubled since 2000. 4% of people here were born outside the United States. That trails the North Carolina median by roughly 23%.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $55,534, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Mid-age
median age 40.7
US median: 38.9
Less educated
23% 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 Rocky Mount
What changed most since 1990
Black share49.6% → 62.4%(+12.8 pts)US over the same years: +0.2 pts
Median home value (2024 dollars)$141,844 → $165,700(+17%)US over the same years: +67%
Adults with a bachelor's degree16.7% → 22.9%(+6.2 pts)US over the same years: +15.3 pts
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)19.6%(749)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)25.1%(959)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era38.7%(1,481)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War8.1%(311)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0.4%(14)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 3,824 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
Rocky Mount, decade by decade
Rocky Mount 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
49,165
$57,734
$141,844
16.7%
63.6
2000
55,893
$59,497
$155,569
20.1%
65.7
2010
57,477
$53,312
$152,345
18.5%
65.2
2020
54,341
$51,743
$132,961
21.1%
65.6
2024
54,297
$55,534
$165,700
22.9%
67.2
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.
