What is the population of Hickory city?

Hickory city has 43,747 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #24 of 777 in North Carolina.

What is the median household income in Hickory city?

Median household income in Hickory city is $63,361 a year, 19.3% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Hickory city?

Median gross rent is $975 a month and the median home value is $248,300, so rent absorbs about 18.5% of median household income.

Is Hickory city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 3.9× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Hickory city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 18.5% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

North Carolina · Census place 31060

Hickory, NC population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Hickory, North Carolina (Hickory, NC — Census place “Hickory city”) is 43,747 residents, ranking #24 of 777 places in North Carolina. Median household income is $63,361, the median home is worth $248,300 and median gross rent runs $975 a month. Looking for the Hickory North Carolina ZIP code list? 2 ZIP codes serve Hickory, NC: 28601, 28602.

Population: 43,747Hickory city residents
Median household income: $63,361Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $248,300Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $975Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 37.7 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 55.9%Owner-occupied households

Hickory ZIP codes (North Carolina)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Hickory.

The Hickory NC ZIP code list below covers 2 ZIP codes. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

What the numbers mean in Hickory city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Hickory city median would spend about 18.5% 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 3.9× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 16.9% of residents and 55.9% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Hickory city, NC in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Hickory city is a small city in North Carolina, with 43,747 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #24 of 777 ranked by population — larger than 97% of them. The median age here is 37.7 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Hickory city earn a median of $63,361 a year, 19.3% below the national figure of $78,538 and 3% above the $61,228 median for the 459 North Carolina cities we cover. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 16.9% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Hickory city is valued at $248,300, 18.2% below the national figure and 13% above the $219,800 peer median, while median gross rent runs $975 a month, 30.7% below the national figure, or roughly $11,700 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 18.5% 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 3.9×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 55.9% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. 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.

No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. 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.

More North Carolina coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Hickory city?: Hickory city has 43,747 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #24 of 777 in North Carolina.
What is the median household income in Hickory city?: Median household income in Hickory city is $63,361 a year, 19.3% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Hickory city?: Median gross rent is $975 a month and the median home value is $248,300, so rent absorbs about 18.5% of median household income.
Is Hickory city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 3.9× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Hickory city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 18.5% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Hickory city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.