What is the population of Hillsborough town?

Hillsborough town has 9,656 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #99 of 777 in North Carolina.

What is the median household income in Hillsborough town?

Median household income in Hillsborough town is $98,467 a year, 25.4% above the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Hillsborough town?

Median gross rent is $1,349 a month and the median home value is $430,100, so rent absorbs about 16.4% of median household income.

Is Hillsborough town affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 4.4× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Hillsborough town is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 16.4% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

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North Carolina · Census place 31620

Hillsborough, NC population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Hillsborough, North Carolina (Hillsborough, NC — Census place “Hillsborough town”) is 9,656 residents, ranking #99 of 777 places in North Carolina. Median household income is $98,467, the median home is worth $430,100 and median gross rent runs $1,349 a month. Looking for the Hillsborough North Carolina ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Hillsborough, NC: 27278.

Population: 9,656Hillsborough town residents
Median household income: $98,467Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $430,100Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $1,349Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 43.6 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 63.7%Owner-occupied households

Hillsborough ZIP codes (North Carolina)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Hillsborough.

The Hillsborough NC ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

27278

What the numbers mean in Hillsborough town

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Hillsborough town median would spend about 16.4% 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 4.4× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 8.7% of residents and 63.7% of households own their home.

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

Hillsborough town, NC in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Hillsborough town is a mid-size town in North Carolina, with 9,656 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #99 of 777 ranked by population — larger than 87% of them. The median age here is 43.6 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older 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 Hillsborough town earn a median of $98,467 a year, 25.4% above the national figure of $78,538 and 61% above 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 8.7% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Hillsborough town is valued at $430,100, 41.8% above the national figure and 96% above the $219,800 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,349 a month, 4.1% below the national figure, or roughly $16,188 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 16.4% 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 4.4×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 63.7% 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.

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.

More North Carolina coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Hillsborough town?: Hillsborough town has 9,656 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #99 of 777 in North Carolina.
What is the median household income in Hillsborough town?: Median household income in Hillsborough town is $98,467 a year, 25.4% above the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Hillsborough town?: Median gross rent is $1,349 a month and the median home value is $430,100, so rent absorbs about 16.4% of median household income.
Is Hillsborough town affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 4.4× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Hillsborough town is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 16.4% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Hillsborough town 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.