North Carolina · Census place 05460
Bethel, NC population, income and ZIP codes
Quick answer
The population of the city of Bethel, North Carolina (Bethel, NC — Census place “Bethel town”) is 1,528 residents, ranking #379 of 777 places in North Carolina. Median household income is $51,489, the median home is worth $114,000 and median gross rent runs $733 a month. Looking for the Bethel North Carolina ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Bethel, NC: 27812.
- Population
- 1,528Bethel town residents
- Median household income
- $51,489Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
- Median home value
- $114,000Owner-occupied units
- Median gross rent
- $733Rent plus utilities, monthly
- Median age
- 40.9 yrsAll residents
- Homeownership rate
- 66.7%Owner-occupied households
Bethel ZIP codes (North Carolina)
Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Bethel.
The Bethel NC ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.
What the numbers mean in Bethel town
Housing cost measured against local earnings.
A household earning the Bethel town median would spend about 17.1% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 2.2× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 12% of residents and 66.7% of households own their home.
Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year
Bethel town, NC in context
How this area compares with national benchmarks.
Bethel town is a small town in North Carolina, with 1,528 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #379 of 777 ranked by population — larger than 51% of them. The median age here is 40.9 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.
Households in Bethel town earn a median of $51,489 a year, 34.4% below the national figure of $78,538 and 16% below the $61,228 median for the 459 North Carolina cities we cover. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 12% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.
The typical owner-occupied home in Bethel town is valued at $114,000, 62.4% below the national figure and 48% below the $219,800 peer median, while median gross rent runs $733 a month, 47.9% below the national figure, or roughly $8,796 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 17.1% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.2×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so purchase prices are unusually low against local pay, the pattern in places where supply is plentiful and wage growth has been flat. 66.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.
Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.
Compare with nearby places
Places of similar size in North Carolina.
- Clyde town 1,522
- Cove Creek CDP 1,533
- Weldon town 1,522
- Biltmore Forest town 1,536
- Dobson town 1,521
- Princeton town 1,543
- Boonville town 1,502
- Advance CDP 1,544
Keep going
More North Carolina coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this area.
- What is the population of Bethel town?
- Bethel town has 1,528 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #379 of 777 in North Carolina.
- What is the median household income in Bethel town?
- Median household income in Bethel town is $51,489 a year, 34.4% below the national figure of $78,538.
- How much does it cost to rent or buy in Bethel town?
- Median gross rent is $733 a month and the median home value is $114,000, so rent absorbs about 17.1% of median household income.
- Is Bethel town affordable compared with the rest of the US?
- Homes cost about 2.2× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Bethel town is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 17.1% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
- How current is this Bethel town data?
- All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.