
North Carolina · Census place 55640
Red Oak, NC population, income and ZIP codes
Quick answer
The population of the city of Red Oak, North Carolina (Red Oak, NC — Census place “Red Oak town”) is 3,372 residents, ranking #240 of 777 places in North Carolina. Median household income is $81,464, the median home is worth $236,200 and median gross rent runs $818 a month. Looking for the Red Oak North Carolina ZIP code list? 3 ZIP codes serve Red Oak, NC: 27804, 27809, 27856.
- Population
- 3,372Red Oak town residents
- Median household income
- $81,464Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
- Median home value
- $236,200Owner-occupied units
- Median gross rent
- $818Rent plus utilities, monthly
- Median age
- 51.2 yrsAll residents
- Homeownership rate
- 83.6%Owner-occupied households
Red Oak ZIP codes (North Carolina)
Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Red Oak.
The Red Oak NC ZIP code list below covers 3 ZIP codes. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.
What the numbers mean in Red Oak town
Housing cost measured against local earnings.
A household earning the Red Oak town median would spend about 12% 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 2.9× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 2.8% of residents and 83.6% of households own their home.
Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year
Red Oak town, NC in context
How this area compares with national benchmarks.
Red Oak town is a small town in North Carolina, with 3,372 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #240 of 777 ranked by population — larger than 69% of them. The median age here is 51.2 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. 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 Red Oak town earn a median of $81,464 a year, 3.7% above the national figure of $78,538 and 33% 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 2.8% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.
The typical owner-occupied home in Red Oak town is valued at $236,200, 22.1% below the national figure and 7% above the $219,800 peer median, while median gross rent runs $818 a month, 41.8% below the national figure, or roughly $9,816 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 12% 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 2.9×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 83.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, an owner-dominated market where rental listings are scarce and rent medians rest on a thin sample. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.
A median age of 51.2 puts Red Oak town well into retirement-weighted territory, which pulls median household income down even where household wealth is high, because retirement draws are counted differently from wages.
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.
- Lake Park village 3,365
- Enochville CDP 3,392
- Spencer town 3,305
- Windsor town 3,417
- Elizabethtown town 3,294
- Rural Hall town 3,421
- Plymouth town 3,264
- Wallace town 3,438
Keep going
More North Carolina coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this area.
- What is the population of Red Oak town?
- Red Oak town has 3,372 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #240 of 777 in North Carolina.
- What is the median household income in Red Oak town?
- Median household income in Red Oak town is $81,464 a year, 3.7% above the national figure of $78,538.
- How much does it cost to rent or buy in Red Oak town?
- Median gross rent is $818 a month and the median home value is $236,200, so rent absorbs about 12% of median household income.
- Is Red Oak town affordable compared with the rest of the US?
- Homes cost about 2.9× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Red Oak town is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 12% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
- How current is this Red Oak 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.