Demographics of Rocky Mount city, North Carolina

Rocky Mount city, North Carolina had 55,120 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +230 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Rocky Mount city, in four figures

55,120
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 54,297 ±36.; +0.4%
Change since July 2020: +230 people.; 40.7 ±2.4
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $55,534 ±$2,420
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Rocky Mount city, North Carolina's population grew 0.4% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Rocky Mount city, North Carolina's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Rocky Mount city, North Carolina's population grew 0.4% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Rocky Mount city, North Carolina's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	54,890	100.0	100.0
2021	54,516	99.3	100.2
2022	54,710	99.7	100.7
2023	54,952	100.1	101.6
2024	55,201	100.6	102.5
2025	55,120	100.4	103.1

Population of Rocky Mount city, North Carolina on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	54,890	—
2021	54,516	−374
2022	54,710	+194
2023	54,952	+242
2024	55,201	+249
2025	55,120	−81

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 40.7 ±2.4: for men 37.2 ±1.6 and for women 43.4 ±1.1. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

2 more columns on a wider screen

People in Rocky Mount city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	North Carolina	United States
Under 5	3,262 ±517	6.0% ±1.0	5.6% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	8,676 ±810	16.0% ±1.5	16.1% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	4,809 ±559	8.9% ±1.0	9.5% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	13,093 ±974	24.1% ±1.8	26.2% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	13,534 ±885	24.9% ±1.6	25.4% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	10,923 ±819	20.1% ±1.5	17.2% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $55,534 ±$2,420, and income per person $31,561 ±$1,617, in 2024 dollars. The median is $72,388 ±$324 in North Carolina and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

2 more columns on a wider screen

Households in Rocky Mount city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	North Carolina	United States
Under $25,000	5,154 ±648	22.1% ±2.7	15.8% ±0.2	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	5,198 ±735	22.2% ±3.1	19.1% ±0.2	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	5,119 ±772	21.9% ±3.2	16.8% ±0.2	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	3,112 ±457	13.3% ±1.9	13.0% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	2,950 ±419	12.6% ±1.7	16.6% ±0.2	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	1,043 ±267	4.5% ±1.1	8.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	788 ±196	3.4% ±0.8	10.4% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

2 more columns on a wider screen

Poverty rate in Rocky Mount city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	North Carolina	United States
All ages	10,490 ±1,608	19.7% ±3.0	13.0% ±0.2	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	3,919 ±784	33.3% ±5.7	17.7% ±0.3	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	4,442 ±806	16.3% ±2.8	12.1% ±0.2	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	2,129 ±399	14.8% ±2.6	10.9% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

1 more column on a wider screen

Housing in Rocky Mount city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Rocky Mount city	North Carolina	United States
Housing units	26,869 ±711	4,895,668 ±642	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	87.0% ±1.7	87.5% ±0.2	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	13.0% ±1.6	12.5% ±0.2	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	49.0% ±2.8	66.6% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	51.0% ±2.8	33.4% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$165,700 ±$7,781	$288,900 ±$1,086	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$957 ±$30	$1,228 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1979 ±2	1991 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

2 more columns on a wider screen

People in Rocky Mount city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	North Carolina	United States
Hispanic or Latino	2,997 ±758	5.5% ±1.4	11.3% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	14,138 ±1,014	26.0% ±1.9	60.0% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	33,881 ±1,078	62.4% ±2.0	20.0% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	800 ±173	1.5% ±0.3	3.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	269 ±127	0.5% ±0.2	0.8% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 95	0% to 0.2%	0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	114 to 568	0.2% to 1.0%	0.5% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	1,826 ±542	3.4% ±1.0	4.1% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

2 more columns on a wider screen

People in Rocky Mount city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	North Carolina	United States
Born in the state	38,087 ±1,381	70.1% ±2.5	53.6% ±0.2	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	13,785 ±1,296	25.4% ±2.4	35.9% ±0.2	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	388 ±166	0.7% ±0.3	1.4% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	2,037 ±383	3.8% ±0.7	9.1% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	941 ±258	1.7% ±0.5	3.8% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	1,096 ±292	2.0% ±0.5	5.2% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Rocky Mount city among the places of North Carolina

20th of 166 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the North Carolina page.

Places of North Carolina near Rocky Mount city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Apex town	70,630 ±70
Huntersville town	63,969 ±69
Chapel Hill town	61,607 ±41
Burlington city	59,610 ±62
Kannapolis city	57,890 ±42
Rocky Mount city	54,297 ±36
Wake Forest town	52,844 ±42
Mooresville town	52,381 ±50
Wilson city	48,370 ±38
Holly Springs town	45,248 ±59
Hickory city	44,258 ±117

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Rocky Mount city, North Carolina

Rankings this appears in

No. 13 Places in North Carolina by poverty rate
No. 15 Places in North Carolina by median age
No. 68 Places in North Carolina by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 81 Places in North Carolina by foreign-born share
No. 84 Places in North Carolina by per capita income
No. 92 Places in North Carolina by median rent

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026