What is the #1 cheapest places to live in north carolina?

#	City	Population	COL Index
1	Scotland Neck	2,087	50.2
2	Red Springs	3,107	53.6
3	Chadbourn	1,347	53.9
4	Maxton	2,398	55.5
5	Jonesville	2,782	59.0
6	Pembroke	2,823	59.8
7	Maury	1,069	61.6
8	Yanceyville	2,376	62.3
9	Magnolia	1,109	63.8
10	Enfield	1,967	65.1
11	Ramseur	2,061	65.1
12	Plymouth	3,264	66.0
13	Norlina	1,050	66.1
14	Andrews	1,976	66.3
15	Hamlet	6,000	66.4
16	Fairmont	2,326	66.6
17	Star	1,430	67.1
18	Elizabethtown	3,294	67.1
19	Murphy	1,356	67.3
20	Brogden	2,712	67.6
21	East Spencer	1,309	67.6
22	Fairplains	1,876	67.6
23	Toast	1,066	68.4
24	Grifton	2,661	68.5
25	Windsor	3,417	69.0
26	Tabor City	3,695	69.5
27	Nebo	1,608	69.8
28	Chocowinity	1,090	70.4
29	Jackson Heights	1,002	70.5
30	Bayboro	1,282	70.5
31	Kinston	19,576	70.6
32	Rockingham	9,094	70.6
33	Spring Hope	1,334	70.9
34	South Henderson	1,274	70.9
35	Beulaville	1,438	71.0
36	Biscoe	2,259	71.3
37	Belhaven	1,421	71.6
38	Williamston	5,157	71.6
39	Spindale	4,244	71.7
40	St. Pauls	2,628	71.8
41	Weldon	1,522	72.0
42	West Marion	1,018	72.4
43	Princeton	1,543	72.4
44	Ellerbe	1,070	72.6
45	Forest City	7,368	72.6
46	Laurinburg	15,079	73.0
47	Jefferson	1,852	73.2
48	Sparta	1,957	73.9
49	Bonnetsville	1,368	73.9
50	Barker Heights	1,025	73.9
51	Henderson	14,922	74.0
52	Robersonville	1,319	74.0
53	Liberty	2,678	74.1
54	Dudley	2,320	74.2
55	Hertford	1,703	74.2
56	Marion	7,594	74.4
57	Roxboro	8,144	74.4
58	Whiteville	4,721	74.9
59	Mayodan	2,446	75.0
60	Cullowhee	7,300	75.0
61	Snow Hill	2,102	75.2
62	Robbins	1,398	75.4
63	La Grange	2,692	75.5
64	Emma	2,757	75.5
65	Smithfield	11,798	75.6
66	Dobson	1,521	75.6
67	Selma	6,611	75.7
68	South Rosemary	2,522	76.3
69	Cricket	2,512	76.4
70	Wadesboro	4,966	76.5
71	Roseboro	1,007	76.8
72	Reidsville	14,547	76.9
73	Long View	4,967	76.9
74	Lucama	1,108	77.1
75	Badin	2,163	77.2
76	Mount Airy	10,631	77.3
77	Rose Hill	1,501	77.5
78	Walnut Cove	2,046	77.7
79	Ayden	5,035	77.7
80	East Rockingham	3,177	78.1
81	North Wilkesboro	4,348	78.1
82	Sylva	2,600	78.3
83	Lumberton	19,220	78.3
84	Wilkesboro	3,664	78.4
85	Sharpsburg	1,629	78.5
86	Fruitland	2,417	78.6
87	Rhodhiss	1,062	78.7
88	Yadkinville	2,986	78.7
89	Bladenboro	2,181	78.9
90	Clinton	8,336	79.2
91	Franklin	4,221	79.4
92	Denton	1,271	79.5
93	Rocky Point	1,045	79.6
94	Raeford	4,545	79.7
95	Lexington	19,691	79.8
96	Lenoir	18,282	80.1
97	Edenton	4,480	80.1
98	Bethel	1,528	80.2
99	Mulberry	2,134	80.4
100	Ahoskie	4,798	80.5
101	Mount Olive	4,204	80.8
102	Icard	2,291	80.9
103	Louisburg	3,128	81.0
104	Coats	2,029	81.2
105	Warsaw	2,728	81.2
106	Elm City	1,173	81.3
107	Madison	2,198	81.3
108	Polkton	2,759	81.3
109	Tarboro	10,705	81.3
110	Murfreesboro	2,814	81.9
111	Kenansville	1,157	81.9
112	Cherokee	1,631	82.0
113	Bryson City	1,676	82.1
114	Taylorsville	2,386	82.1
115	Washington	9,754	82.3
116	Kenly	2,351	82.4
117	West Canton	1,369	82.8
118	Troy	2,905	82.8
119	Spruce Pine	2,381	82.9
120	Pinetops	1,323	82.9
121	West Jefferson	1,567	83.0
122	Stoneville	1,213	83.2
123	Kings Mountain	11,472	83.2
124	Dunn	8,512	83.5
125	River Road	3,518	83.6
126	Cajah's Mountain	2,696	83.7
127	Hayesville	1,110	83.8
128	Princeville	1,502	84.6
129	Randleman	4,611	84.8
130	Eden	15,353	84.9
131	Mar-Mac	2,802	85.6
132	Roanoke Rapids	15,024	85.8
133	Elroy	3,507	86.1
134	Wallace	3,438	86.1
135	Pilot Mountain	1,584	86.2
136	New Hope	1,200	86.4
137	Asheboro	27,353	86.6
138	Hildebran	1,860	86.7
139	Candor	1,284	86.7
140	Lincolnton	11,503	86.7
141	Burnsville	2,143	86.8
142	Hays	1,355	86.9
143	Goldsboro	33,448	87.0
144	Sawmills	5,027	87.1
145	Franklinville	1,129	87.1
146	Bessemer City	5,508	87.1
147	Maiden	3,777	88.0
148	Oxford	8,897	88.1
149	Siler City	7,905	88.2
150	Albemarle	16,527	88.3
151	Drexel	1,862	88.3
152	Valdese	4,689	88.3
153	Rocky Mount	54,175	88.4
154	Shelby	21,868	88.4
155	Foscoe	1,257	88.5
156	Tyro	3,635	88.5
157	Middlesex	1,005	88.7
158	Wilson	47,740	89.2
159	Moravian Falls	1,015	89.8
160	Morganton	17,541	89.8
161	Rural Hall	3,421	90.0
162	Lowell	3,711	90.2
163	Saxapahaw	1,501	90.6
164	Thomasville	27,261	90.7
165	Broad Creek	1,963	90.9
166	St. Stephens	9,409	91.3
167	Spring Lake	11,613	91.3
168	Vass	1,092	91.6
169	Elkin	4,025	91.8
170	Boone	19,534	91.8
171	Norwood	3,110	92.1
172	Pumpkin Center	1,753	92.1
173	Mount Gilead	1,166	92.4
174	Greenville	88,540	92.4
175	Farmville	4,493	92.5
176	Green Level	3,179	92.9
177	Mocksville	6,001	93.1
178	Millers Creek	1,469	93.1
179	Hudson	3,777	93.1
180	Dana	3,824	93.2
181	Cordova	1,343	93.4
182	Salem	2,035	93.5
183	Dallas	6,012	93.5
184	Angier	5,746	93.7
185	Newton	13,223	93.9
186	Graham	17,537	93.9
187	Cove Creek	1,533	94.1
188	Conover	8,491	94.1
189	Burlington	58,599	94.3
190	Glen Alpine	1,995	94.3
191	Beaufort	4,613	94.9
192	Salisbury	35,730	94.9
193	Glen Raven	3,684	95.0
194	Half Moon	7,780	95.0
195	Carthage	2,840	95.2
196	Statesville	29,161	95.3
197	Elizabeth City	18,740	95.6
198	Haw River	2,581	95.7
199	Clyde	1,522	95.8
200	Erwin	4,617	95.8
201	Cherryville	6,154	95.9
202	China Grove	4,487	96.0
203	Marshville	2,586	96.0
204	Welcome	3,649	96.0
205	Columbus	1,166	96.3
206	Connelly Springs	2,342	96.4
207	Cleveland	1,053	96.4
208	East Flat Rock	6,468	96.5
209	Gamewell	3,701	96.5
210	Tryon	1,713	96.8
211	Wentworth	2,670	97.1
212	Sanford	30,833	97.2
213	New Bern	31,563	97.3
214	Skippers Corner	3,834	97.5
215	Waynesville	10,408	97.6
216	Claremont	2,051	97.9
217	Stony Point	1,301	97.9
218	Jacksonville	73,507	98.0
219	Mountain View	3,068	98.0
220	Rutherfordton	3,669	98.0
221	Richlands	2,387	98.1
222	Wilson's Mills	2,652	98.3
223	King	7,345	98.4
224	Winston-Salem	250,887	98.4
225	James City	4,859	98.4
226	Canton	4,417	98.5
227	Arrowhead Beach	1,277	98.5
228	Fayetteville	209,692	98.5
229	Spencer	3,305	98.7
230	Archdale	11,992	98.8
231	Edneyville	2,698	98.9
232	Rutherford College	1,327	99.7
233	Nashville	5,672	99.7
234	Rockwell	2,688	99.9
235	Granite Quarry	3,015	100.3
236	Franklinton	2,562	100.4
237	Brevard	7,795	100.4
238	Lillington	4,683	100.5
239	Benson	4,144	100.9
240	Springdale	1,120	101.1
241	Harkers Island	1,080	101.4
242	Vander	1,614	101.6
243	Hope Mills	17,823	101.7
244	Hickory	43,747	101.8
245	Broadway	1,429	101.8
246	Boonville	1,502	101.9
247	Greensboro	298,564	102.0
248	High Point	115,263	102.2
249	Navassa	2,148	102.5
250	Midway	4,826	102.6
251	Burgaw	3,249	102.7
252	Newport	4,428	103.3
253	Wingate	4,169	103.4
254	Morehead City	9,696	103.6
255	Balfour	1,132	103.6
256	Swannanoa	6,043	103.6
257	Granite Falls	4,921	104.2
258	Zebulon	7,961	104.3
259	Enochville	3,392	104.3
260	Havelock	16,471	104.4
261	Hendersonville	15,253	104.5
262	Rockfish	3,807	104.8
263	Gorman	1,447	105.3
264	Calabash	2,397	105.3
265	Piney Green	14,205	105.5
266	Plain View	1,647	105.7
267	Pine Level	2,072	105.9
268	Kings Grant	9,061	106.2
269	Efland	1,064	106.4
270	Gastonia	81,632	107.3
271	Dortches	1,317	107.7
272	Trinity	7,066	108.2
273	Grandy	2,443	108.2
274	Wrightsboro	5,434	108.6
275	Northchase	5,879	108.7
276	Boiling Spring Lakes	6,206	109.2
277	Hoopers Creek	1,623	109.7
278	Southmont	1,293	110.1
279	Tobaccoville	2,632	110.2
280	Red Oak	3,372	110.6
281	Wanchese	1,793	110.8
282	Pinebluff	1,723	111.2
283	Buies Creek	3,613	111.3
284	Oakboro	2,453	111.6
285	Stanley	4,014	111.7
286	Kernersville	27,439	111.8
287	Neuse Forest	2,406	112.5
288	River Bend	2,896	112.5
289	Bethlehem	3,928	112.5
290	Monroe	35,596	112.8
291	Kannapolis	56,470	113.1
292	Butner	7,996	113.2
293	Maggie Valley	2,311	113.5
294	Atlantic Beach	1,705	113.5
295	Sneads Ferry	2,556	114.0
296	Bermuda Run	3,166	114.4
297	Sunset Beach	4,326	114.4
298	Mars Hill	2,738	114.6
299	Hemby Bridge	2,079	114.8
300	Four Oaks	2,372	114.8
301	Locust	5,529	114.8
302	Stanfield	1,554	114.9
303	Pittsboro	4,640	115.0
304	Denver	2,483	115.3
305	Mountain Home	3,518	115.4
306	Aberdeen	8,969	116.4
307	Landis	3,726	116.4
308	Stem	1,064	116.6
309	Banner Elk	1,338	117.0
310	Wallburg	3,104	117.6
311	Eastover	3,666	117.9
312	Creedmoor	4,957	118.1
313	Mount Holly	17,928	118.1
314	Woodfin	7,957	118.4
315	Silver Lake	6,242	118.7
316	Shallotte	4,465	118.8
317	Wilmington	118,578	118.9
318	Mount Pleasant	1,866	118.9
319	Troutman	3,813	119.4
320	Walkertown	5,793	120.2
321	Lake Waccamaw	1,666	120.3
322	Foxfire	1,730	120.5
323	Youngsville	2,581	120.5
324	Pleasant Garden	4,989	120.8
325	Barbecue	5,933	121.2
326	Fletcher	8,022	121.3
327	Buxton	1,451	121.5
328	Fairfield Harbour	2,898	121.6
329	Ranlo	4,556	121.6
330	Asheville	94,369	121.9
331	Pineville	10,780	122.2
332	Swepsonville	2,452	122.4
333	Lewisville	13,655	122.7
334	Black Mountain	8,462	123.5
335	Lake Junaluska	2,903	124.3
336	Etowah	7,765	124.3
337	Lake Lure	1,488	125.0
338	Bent Creek	1,854	125.1
339	Boiling Springs	4,625	125.1
340	Anderson Creek	14,021	125.9
341	Mebane	18,899	126.0
342	Manteo	1,853	126.3
343	Clemmons	21,574	126.5
344	Camden	1,072	126.6
345	Winterville	10,624	127.0
346	Clayton	28,043	127.2
347	Seven Lakes	4,823	127.6
348	Unionville	6,826	128.3
349	Murraysville	17,307	128.7
350	Highlands	1,276	128.8
351	Sea Breeze	1,731	128.8
352	Garner	32,543	129.5
353	Lake Royale	2,959	130.0
354	Valley Hill	2,540	130.1
355	Five Points	1,096	130.2
356	Charlotte	886,283	130.4
357	Jamestown	3,685	130.7
358	Midland	4,758	130.9
359	Belmont	15,140	131.1
360	Gibsonville	9,289	131.3
361	Durham	288,465	133.1
362	Concord	106,518	133.2
363	Nags Head	3,164	133.5
364	Carolina Shores	4,843	133.8
365	Oak Island	8,888	133.9
366	Mineral Springs	3,244	134.6
367	Southern Pines	16,052	134.6
368	Elon	11,325	134.9
369	Wendell	11,585	135.0
370	Fairview	2,327	135.1
371	Cape Carteret	2,598	135.2
372	Horse Shoe	1,699	135.8
373	Alamance	1,358	135.8
374	Lake Park	3,365	136.0
375	Hampstead	9,129	136.6
376	Belville	3,183	136.8
377	Mooresville	51,447	137.1
378	Raleigh	470,763	137.5
379	Archer Lodge	5,036	137.6
380	Southport	4,143	138.4
381	Advance	1,544	139.0
382	Cramerton	5,376	139.5
383	Kill Devil Hills	7,727	139.5
384	Mills River	7,214	141.6
385	Cedar Point	2,005	141.7
386	Stedman	1,613	142.3
387	Leland	26,307	142.4
388	Knightdale	19,532	142.7
389	Spout Springs	11,073	143.8
390	Surf City	4,160	145.2
391	Mint Hill	26,954	145.3
392	Trent Woods	4,086	145.3
393	Carolina Beach	6,665	145.5
394	Northlakes	1,462	146.0
395	Laurel Park	2,391	146.0
396	Brandywine Bay	1,404	146.1
397	Kitty Hawk	3,721	146.2
398	Faith	1,090	146.5
399	Forest Oaks	4,095	147.0
400	Holly Ridge	4,532	148.2
401	Brices Creek	3,592	148.4
402	Bayshore	2,870	150.0
403	Royal Pines	4,528	150.2
404	Cypress Landing	1,037	150.3
405	Avery Creek	2,998	151.1
406	Weaverville	4,618	151.1
407	Flat Rock	3,502	151.9
408	Hillsborough	9,656	152.4
409	Carrboro	21,170	152.9
410	Cherry Branch	1,406	153.2
411	Swansboro	3,887	154.0
412	Matthews	29,959	154.0
413	McAdenville	1,139	154.8
414	Indian Trail	41,146	155.7
415	Stokesdale	5,943	156.2
416	Lake Norman of Catawba	9,308	157.2
417	Emerald Isle	3,915	158.2
418	Myrtle Grove	12,404	158.4
419	Stallings	16,495	159.8
420	Moyock	5,669	159.9
421	Chapel Hill	59,889	160.6
422	Lowesville	3,737	162.7
423	Pinehurst	17,992	162.9
424	Cornelius	32,009	163.0
425	Fuquay-Varina	37,749	163.4
426	Huntersville	62,458	165.2
427	Kure Beach	2,323	166.4
428	Holden Beach	1,047	166.7
429	Wake Forest	51,199	168.4
430	Porters Neck	7,102	171.1
431	Governors Village	2,148	174.1
432	Pine Knoll Shores	1,387	174.4
433	Ogden	8,363	175.3
434	Whispering Pines	5,081	178.1
435	Rolesville	10,200	178.7
436	Holly Springs	43,429	178.9
437	Morrisville	30,471	182.6
438	Cary	176,686	184.1
439	Summerfield	11,031	184.2
440	Waxhaw	21,565	184.9
441	Southern Shores	3,119	189.7
442	St. James	6,901	190.4
443	Walnut Creek	1,684	191.5
444	Apex	67,765	193.1
445	Harrisburg	19,203	194.5
446	Westport	5,079	198.9
447	Fearrington Village	2,535	201.9
448	Wesley Chapel	8,923	205.7
449	Davidson	14,852	208.0
450	Oak Ridge	7,660	210.3
451	Lake Norman of Iredell	12,496	222.4
452	Briar Chapel	6,084	229.9
453	Weddington	13,468	236.9
454	Wrightsville Beach	2,679	249.7
455	Biltmore Forest	1,536	282.9
456	Governors Club	1,772	284.8
457	Marvin	6,542	324.6

Methodology

Cities in North Carolina are ranked by col index. Only cities with populations above 1,000 are included. Data sourced from BLS / C2ER. Last updated 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the #1 cheapest places to live in north carolina?: Scotland Neck ranks #1 with 50.2 (col index).
What are the top 5 cheapest places to live in north carolina?: 1. Scotland Neck (50.2), 2. Red Springs (53.6), 3. Chadbourn (53.9), 4. Maxton (55.5), 5. Jonesville (59.0)
How many cities in North Carolina are ranked?: This ranking includes 457 cities in North Carolina with available data.

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