Housing Value★★★★★★★★★★3.1 / 5Home values compared with local household income.
Living in Hickory, NC
Explore Hickory and see how it fits the life you want to build.
Overall Match7.0 / 10
Baseline match from currently available location scores. Choose priorities to personalize it.
Hickory at a Glance
Key facts and current data
Population44,258
Median Household Income$64,576
Median Home Value$278,400
Median Gross Rent$1,063
Median Age37.5
Average Household Size2.4
Unemployment3.8%
Work From Home12.9%
Homeownership55.0%
Housing Vacancy9.6%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year.
Hickory is a mid-sized community where local neighborhoods, nearby job centers and regional access can matter as much as citywide averages.
Experience the Area
Experience Life in Hickory Before You Move
Explore Short-Term Stays in Hickory →Stay options powered by Stay22 · affiliate
NarrowTheList highly recommends you spend a week or two in Hickory and experience everyday life before deciding whether it is the right place to call home. Use that time to explore neighborhoods, drive your normal routes, shop where residents shop, and get a feel for the area at different times of day.
NarrowTheList Ratings
Data-driven starter ratings. More categories appear automatically as new datasets are added.
Housing & Cost of Living in Hickory
Current housing indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau
Median Home Value$278,400
Median Gross Rent$1,063
Homeownership55.0%
Housing Vacancy9.6%
Home values are moderately high relative to local household income, making neighborhood-level price differences important for buyers. The housing mix leans toward owner-occupied homes while still supporting a meaningful rental market.
Jobs, Income & Remote Work
Employment and household-income context for Hickory, NC
Median Household Income$64,576
Unemployment3.8%
Work From Home12.9%
The reported unemployment rate is relatively low. A meaningful share of employed residents work from home.
Population & Household Profile
Who lives in Hickory and how households are structured
Population44,258
Median Age37.5
Average Household Size2.4
Hickory is a smaller community, so its relationship with nearby towns, employment centers and services can be especially important.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year. NarrowTheList presents these values as relocation context; conditions can vary within a community.
Climate & Weather in Hickory
Long-term NOAA climate normals and practical seasonal context
NOAA climate normals for Hickory point to hot summers, winters with regular freezing conditions, a wetter annual rainfall pattern and little to no annual snowfall.
Average Summer High87.4°F
Average Winter Low30.2°F
Annual Rainfall47.2 in.
Annual Snowfall0.3 in.
Seasonal Life in Hickory
What the long-term climate pattern may mean for everyday living.
Spring
Spring is a good time to see how wetter conditions affect drainage, yards, commuting and the usability of outdoor spaces.
Summer
Summer is warm enough that shade and cooling still matter, but the typical high is below the extreme-heat range seen in many hotter U.S. markets.
Fall
Fall marks a substantial seasonal transition here. It is a useful time to judge how quickly temperatures change and whether that seasonal swing fits the lifestyle you want.
Winter
Freezing winter lows make heating, icy conditions and cold-weather routines worth evaluating even if annual snowfall is limited.
Source: NOAA/NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020. Seasonal descriptions are relocation context derived from the available long-term normals, not a forecast.
County Intelligence
Hickory & Its Counties
Medium
Foreclosure Activity
Hickory spans Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties.
Living in a community that crosses county lines can make location within Hickory especially important. Property taxes, housing characteristics, public services and other county-level factors may vary depending on which part of the community you call home.
Current NarrowTheList data for Hickory shows a population of about 44,258. These local figures become more useful when read together with county-level tax, housing, foreclosure and demographic conditions rather than treated as isolated city statistics.
Foreclosure Activity: Medium. Current signal uses NarrowTheList foreclosure-opportunity data until direct county delinquency and foreclosure datasets are connected.
For someone comparing homes, county boundaries can matter because taxes, public services, court and recording systems, assessment practices and housing-market conditions are often administered or reported at the county level. NarrowTheList keeps that county relationship attached to the community so future tax, foreclosure, housing and demographic data can be interpreted in the correct geographic context.
County relationship
Burke County, Caldwell County and Catawba County
How NarrowTheList uses it
NarrowTheList connects Hickory with all 3 of its counties rather than assigning the community to only one. As additional county data becomes available, those differences can be compared alongside city-level information to help identify which parts of the area may better fit your priorities.
Nearby Cities & Communities
Nearby incorporated cities, towns, villages and other municipalities shown by straight-line distance.