Hickory composite
56.6 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Hickory vs Rocky Mount
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC and Rocky Mount, NC side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 56.6
- Hickory Life Score
- B+
- Hickory grade
- 54.3
- Rocky Mount Life Score
- B
- Rocky Mount grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Hickory scores higher on 4 (wages, rent, safety, childcare) and Rocky Mount on 3 (cost of living, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Hickory Rocky Mount ◗
cost of living
83
87
wages
22
15
rent
83
74
safety
47
46
schools
56
58
childcare
59
57
environment
45
46
Hickory and Rocky Mount differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Hickory has a cost-of-living index of 88.5 vs Rocky Mount's 88.0 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $59,550 in Hickory and $58,055 in Rocky Mount. A 2-bedroom averages $1,095/mo vs $1,143/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Hickory vs Rocky Mount Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Hickory and Rocky Mount works out to $576 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Hickory carries the same local purchasing power as $99,464 in Rocky Mount - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 364.6 per 100,000 residents in NC vs 364.6 in NC, with property-crime rates of 1929.5 and 1929.5 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: NC lists 2,703 public schools at a 16.1:1 student-teacher ratio, while NC lists 2,703 schools at 16.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $9,487/yr in the Hickory area versus $9,487/yr in Rocky Mount - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Hickory and Rocky Mount are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Rocky Mount composite
54.3 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Rocky Mount cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Hickory safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Hickory
Hickory composite (Grade B+)
Rocky Mount
Rocky Mount composite (Grade B)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Hickory | Rocky Mount |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 88.5 | 88.0 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.6 |
| Services | 87.8 | 88.4 |
| Rents | 59.6 | 56.1 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Rocky Mount gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Hickory?
$
Equivalent in Rocky Mount:
$99,464
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Hickory: 88.5, Rocky Mount: 88.0, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Hickory | Rocky Mount |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $858/mo | $913/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $908/mo | $918/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,095/mo | $1,143/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,372/mo | $1,550/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,660/mo | $1,812/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Hickory | Rocky Mount |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $59,550 | $58,055 |
| Total Employment | 148,530 | 47,780 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Hickory (NC) | Rocky Mount (NC) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 364.6 | 364.6 |
| Property Crime | 1929.5 | 1929.5 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | NC | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,703 | 2,703 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 16.1:1 | 16.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 7.6% | 7.6% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | NC | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $9,487/yr | $9,487/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,856/yr | $7,856/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,548/yr | $6,548/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | NC | NC |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 924 | 924 |
| Water Systems | 1,958 | 1,958 |
| Superfund Sites | 42 | 42 |
| Water Violations | 3,120 | 3,120 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Hickory | Rocky Mount |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 44.0 | 38.0 |
| Good Air Days | 69.0% | 84.4% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | NC | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 9/100 | 9/100 |
| Total Violations | 524,053 | 524,053 |
| Health-Based Violations | 38,492 | 38,492 |
| Systems with Violations | 92.9% | 92.9% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | NC | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 91/100 | 91/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 9.2% | 9.2% |
| HPSA Designations | 615 | 615 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | NC | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 41/100 | 41/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 66.7 | 66.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 62.6 | 62.6 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hickory more expensive than Rocky Mount? ▼
Hickory has a cost of living index of 88.5 compared to Rocky Mount's 88.0 (national average = 100). Hickory is 0.5 points above Rocky Mount on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Hickory and Rocky Mount? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,095/mo in Hickory vs $1,143/mo in Rocky Mount, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $858/mo to $913/mo.
How do salaries compare between Hickory and Rocky Mount? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $59,550 in Hickory and $58,055 in Rocky Mount, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Hickory has the same purchasing power as $99,464 in Rocky Mount.
Is Hickory or Rocky Mount safer? ▼
At the state level, NC has a violent crime rate of 364.6 per 100,000 residents compared to NC's 364.6 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1929.5 vs 1929.5 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Hickory and Rocky Mount? ▼
NC has 2,703 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.1:1, while NC has 2,703 schools at 16.1:1. Charter schools make up 7.6% of NC schools vs 7.6% in NC. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare