PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC

63.4
Life Score / 100
A
Grade (curved)
#24
of 387 metros
94%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Hickory ranks #24 of 387 US metros, ahead of 94% - carried by its safety (94/100) and held back most by wages (22/100).

94
strongest: Safety
83
then: Cost of Living
22
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Hickory sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

63 Top 6% higher than 94% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Below this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). This entry sits in this band. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Hickory Life Score

Hickory's composite score of 63.4 out of 100, a grade of A, places the metro at rank #24 of 387, ahead of 94% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (94/100) and Cost of Living (83/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (22/100) and Environment (39/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 88.5 (rent-RPP 59.6). BLS median salary $59,550, 148,530 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,095/mo (studio $858).

FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 15.8:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC). Ranks #21-#27 below.

Dimension detail

How Hickory scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 83/100 (20%)
Wages 22/100 (20%)
Rent 83/100 (15%)
Safety 94/100 (15%)
Schools 60/100 (10%)
Childcare 59/100 (10%)
Environment 39/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

88.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$59,550
Avg Median Salary
$1,095
2BR Fair Market Rent
365
Violent Crime/100K (NC)
15.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$9,487
Infant Childcare/yr (NC)
42
Superfund Sites (NC)
148,530
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Hickory With...

Hickory vs Winston Compare → Hickory vs Greenville Compare → Hickory vs Rocky Mount Compare → Hickory vs Wildwood Compare → Hickory vs Waterloo Compare → Hickory vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Hickory outranks 94% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#21 Terre Haute, IN 63.5 A
#22 Monroe, LA 63.5 A
#23 Mankato, MN 63.5 A
#24 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 63.4 A
#25 Owensboro, KY 63.4 A
#26 Rochester, MN 63.4 A
#27 Minot, ND 63.2 A

NC Metro Scores

Winston-Salem, NC A+ 69.8 Greenville, NC A+ 66.6 Rocky Mount, NC A+ 65.8 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC A- 59.2 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC B+ 58.6 Fayetteville, NC B+ 58.0

Using Hickory's Life Score

Hickory is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (94/100) and its weakest is wages (22/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Hickory head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Hickory lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Hickory's biggest strengths? ▼
Hickory's strongest dimensions are Safety (94/100), Cost of Living (83/100), Rent (83/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Hickory's weakest areas? ▼
Hickory's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (22/100), Environment (39/100), Childcare (59/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Hickory compared to the national average? ▼
Hickory's Regional Price Parity is 88.5 (11.5% less than national); rent RPP 59.6.
What is the average salary in Hickory? ▼
Hickory median salary: $59,550, 148,530 jobs. Top: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Hickory's 63.4/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.