THE 10 WORST Places To Live In North Carolina, 2020

The 10 Worst Places To Live In North Carolina For 2020

1. Roxboro

If you live in Roxboro, this might not be a surprise, but you have the 38th highest crime rate, per capita in the state of North Carolina. Every year you spend here, you have a 1 in 26.0 chance of being the victim of a property crime like a car break in or home invasion robbery.

That's a lot of stolen cell phones, laptops and black license plates.

Plus there were 73 violent crimes in the last FBI reporting year. That means if you spent a year there, you'd have a 1 in 113 chance of being raped or attacked.

Finally, the folks who live here earn the 2nd lowest salaries in North Carolina At $27,170 a household, that's simply not enough to get by for most folks.

Review Of Roxboro by HomeSnacks User

I have lived in the Roxboro, Person co area all my life. As far as home values, they are way above what you have on here due to being located so close to Durham and Raleigh. Most people who live in the area work outside of the area because it is cheaper to work somewhere else but live here.

I like the Timberland restaurant. It's small but the food is good.

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2. Wadesboro

Unfortunately for the Town of Wadesboro, crime has been an issue for a while now. They need some tough love down there; residents had a 1 in 204 chance of being the victim of a violent crime, meaning raped, attacked or murdered. In fact, for a city of under 6,000 people, the 80 violent crimes in town in 2020 really puts things into perspective.

Residents here are really having a hard time making ends meet, too.

Review Of Wadesboro by HomeSnacks User

I live in wadesboro it really isn't as bad as they make it out to be.... I don't think so anyway....lol.

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3. Selma

You might have passed through Selma once and probably throught it seems to be a relatively quiet, clean place.

Here's what science says about why Selma needs some love: The unemployment rate is nearly 7.3%, residents earn about $28,440 a year, and home prices are just over $89,500. Across the board, those are in the bottom half in the state. Not absolutely horrible, but not desirable, either.

And there simply isn't anything to do in Selma.

4. Reidsville

Reidsville has some of the same issues that the cities above have. The crime is statistically the 16th-highest in the state of North Carolina. And residents earn far less than it takes to live a normal life. The unemployment rank is also higher than almost every other city in the state at 7.8%.

Additionally, 23.8% of the population lives below the poverty line.

5. Lexington

You can sure expect that Lexington is going to be a pretty rough place to live, it comes in 5th in our analysis. It is. In fact, Lexington has the 91st-highest crime rate in the state. Probably no surprises there.

There were 119 violent crimes here in 2020, and residents have a 1 in 38.6 chance of being the victim of a property crime. That means, most likely, if you live in Lexington, either you or someone on your block had their home or car broken into last year.

You can also imagine that the economy here is in the pits -- the unemployment rate sits at 13.8% which is the 10th worst in North Carolina.

6. Albemarle

When you're looking at science and data, Albemarle is the 6th worst place you can live in the state of North Carolina. Let's see why.

First off, the crime here is really high, in comparison to the rest of North Carolina. Albemarle is the 10th most dangerous place you can live in the state, where you have a 1 in 18.6 chance of being the victim of some type of property crime. Meaning lots of people are getting robbed here.

Homes here average $116,900, which is the 27th lowest in the state. You can defend 'cheap living' all you want, but the fact is, homes are priced by demand, and there's not a lot of demand to live in Albemarle.

Income levels are just about $38,988, the 36th lowest in North Carolina.

When you add it all up, Albemarle really is quite an undesirable place to live. The people who have to live in here could use a big hug right about now.

7. Dunn

It's not the adults in Dunn who need a hug, it's the kids. The public schools are some of the least funded in the state. In addition, the crime is really high for a city of its size.

Their motto is, "Where community matters." So at least they have one another.

Dunn is kind of out in the middle of nowhere north of Fayetteville.

8. Henderson

Henderson is in a bad place. Again, the household incomes here are really, really low, and the average home value is $98,200. That means it ranks as the 9th lowest in North Carolina.

You can make a case that based on the fact that Henderson has no real indoor entertainment, and crime is the 5th worst in the state, it's one of the worst places you can live in North Carolina.

Review Of Henderson by HomeSnacks User

I have been a resident of Hendersonville, NC for 53 years. I am very proud to call it my hometown. Next time, you think you want to include us, come visit. I would love to show you a different town than you have heard about. Actually, I would love to be the personal tour guide.

We are a beautiful southern hospitality town. We are known for loving home folks, amazing restaurants, loaded with churches, numerous banks, and hometown stores where you can meet the owner while shopping.

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9. Monroe

If you're looking to live in North Carolina, Monroe might not be the best choice as it places 9th in our ranking of the worst places to live in the Tar Heel State for 2020.

The average family earns $47,303 a year out here, and 20.2% of the population is below the poverty line. Nearly 9.2% of the population is out of work.

And when you consider the crime, it's just crazy to think of how dangerous it is to live way out here. When you're in Monroe, every year, you have a 1 in 22.6 chance of being robbed. Can you imagine? Perhaps it's an economic factor, or the fact that the people out there are so isolated, but the fact remains, it's the 34th most dangerous place in the state, per capita.

10. Kinston

As we noted in an earlier article, Kinston has one of the highest crime rates in North Carolina. And the unemployment rate is one of the highest in the state as well, at 8.7%

People in Kinston make just above the poverty line in combined income. This little city southeast of Goldsboro has a Walmart, but there's no real excitement down there.