CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

36.51° N · 80.58° W · GEOID 3723640

Flat Rock

Surry County, North Carolina · part of the Mount Airy, NC metro

Limited data population under 5,000, core figures borrowed from county or metro: median_gross_rent

North CarolinaFlat Rock, NCFlat RockFlat Rock

The short answer

Flat Rock is home to 1,062 people. Median household income is $42,018 a year and median rent is $761 a month, 21.7% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $95,400, about 2.3x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$761
44% below the median place
Median household income
$42,018
48% below the median place
Median home value
$95,400
70% below the median place
Unemployment
4.4%
10% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Flat Rock

  • The median home is valued at $95,400, less than in 96% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 161 North Carolina places.
  • The median household earns $42,018 a year, less than in 94% of places its size.
01

Moving to Flat Rock

Surry County gains about 3.3 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in2,588
Moved out2,403
Net+185

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Stokes County, NC241294−53
Yadkin County, NC240209+31
Wilkes County, NC191231−40
Carroll County, VA103107−4
Patrick County, VA7887−9

Within North Carolina, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within North CarolinaOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$52K
Leavers$50K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Surry County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
4.1% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 1.4% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Surry County report $51,800 a year in income on average; those leaving, $50,200.
Income you would need
$30,400 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $761 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,514 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $95,400.
Getting to work
24 minutes each way on average; 6.7% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Laurinburg, NC matches it on character. Compare the two
Income of households moving out6
$50,199
29% below the median place
Income of households moving in6
$51,777
27% below the median place
Moved here in the past year1
4.1%
28% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureFlat RockAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure4.1%28% below
Moved from another state1County figure1.4%29% below
Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure3.3above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in6County figure$51,77727% below
Income of households moving out6County figure$50,19929% below
02

What it costs to live here

Median home value is $95,400, 70% below the median place.

Flat Rock21.7%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$30,440
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
21.7%
6% above the median place
Home price to income
2.3x
40% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
22%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$32,900
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Flat Rock, $761 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Flat Rock.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Flat Rock? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Median home value1
$95,400
70% below the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$761
77% below the median place
Median year built1
1965
1% below the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureFlat RockAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1County figure$76144% below
Rent to income121.7%6% above
Property tax rate10.8%12% below
Home price to income12.3x40% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$1,01237% below
HUD area median income3County figure$72,70032% below
Property tax paid (median)1$76177% below
Median home value1$95,40070% below
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure-0.6%below (median 3.2%)
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure64.6%25% above
Homeownership175.2%13% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure43.3%14% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,51419% below
Vacant homes1County figure11.5%63% above
Median year built119651% below
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Median household income1
$42,018
48% below the median place
Income per person1
$25,915
35% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureFlat RockAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$42,01848% below
Income per person1$25,91535% below
Unemployment1County figure4.4%10% below
Average annual pay5County figure$51,49122% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure4.4%19% above
Jobs5County figure28,71881% below
Poverty rate1County figure16.8%56% above
Mean commute1County figure24 min2% below
Works from home1County figure6.7%46% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Homes with broadband is 73.1%, 21% below the median place.

Homes with broadband1
73.1%
21% below the median place
High school or higher1
81.3%
12% below the median place
Bachelor's or higher1
18.6%
42% below the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasureFlat RockAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,0626646th largest
Median age137.83% below
Bachelor's or higher118.6%42% below
High school or higher181.3%12% below
Household size12.39% below
Born abroad1County figure6.1%31% below
No health insurance1County figure10.8%69% above
Homes with broadband173.1%21% below
05

Life in Flat Rock

32 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents18.8 +85%
Playgrounds per 10k37.7 4.0×
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars20.0 −4%
Shops43.7 +44%
Arts, recreation and fitness2.1 −49%
Doctors' offices and clinics16.9 −16%
Child care centers2.0 −13%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Shops per 10k7
43.7
44% above the median place
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7
2.1
49% below the median place
Public schools10
28
211% above the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureFlat RockAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10County figure28211% above
Public school students10County figure10,999125% above
Students per teacher10County figure15.40% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure20.04% below
Shops per 10k7County figure43.744% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure2.149% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure16.916% below
Child care centers per 10k7County figure2.013% below
Parks per 10k818.885% above
Playgrounds per 10k837.7300% above
Grocery stores per 10k80.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k80.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k80.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails80.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi80.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings9County figure32146% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

Heat wave risk is 22.4, 75% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Flat Rock. Larger places are fetched first.

Heat wave risk12
22.4
75% below the median place
Wildfire risk12
28.1
54% below the median place
Natural hazard risk12
73.6
20% below the median place
All 9 weather and risk measures
MeasureFlat RockAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high11County figure87°F0% above
January average low11County figure27°F8% above
Average temperature11County figure57°F4% above
Annual precipitation11County figure50.4 in15% above
Natural hazard risk12County figure73.620% below
Hurricane risk12County figure71.51% above
Tornado risk12County figure59.427% below
Wildfire risk12County figure28.154% below
Heat wave risk12County figure22.475% below
08

Flat Rock in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 22% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 22% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$771/mo (2024)$990/mo$810 to $1,200/mo+4.2%
Median household income$42,018 (2024)$54,000$46,000 to $64,000+4.3%
Median home value$95,400 (2024)$131,000$95,000 to $181,000+5.4%

The median home would be worth 2.4 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.3 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Flat Rock

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Laurinburg, NC$774$42,170Compare
Greenville, AL$730$40,822Compare
Waycross, GA$768$38,301Compare
Pine Bluff, AR$855$42,718Compare
Pine Bluff, ARWaycross, GAGreenville, ALLaurinburg, NCFlat Rock, NCFlat RockLaurinburgGreenvilleWaycrossPine BluffFlat RockLaurinburgGreenvilleWaycrossPine Bluff

Common questions

Is Flat Rock a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. The median home is valued at $95,400, less than in 96% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 161 North Carolina places. The median household earns $42,018 a year, less than in 94% of places its size. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Flat Rock expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 21.7% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $95,400.

What salary do you need to live in Flat Rock?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $30,440 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Flat Rock?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Laurinburg, NC, Greenville, AL, Waycross, GA and Pine Bluff, AR.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  7. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  8. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  9. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  10. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  11. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  12. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Flat Rock with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Flat Rock itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/flat-rock-surry-county-north-carolina

Citytistics. “Flat Rock, North Carolina.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/flat-rock-surry-county-north-carolina/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.