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Cost of living, pay and housing

35.96° N · 78.18° W · GEOID 3736513

Lake Royale

Franklin County, North Carolina · part of the Raleigh, NC metro

Limited data population under 5,000

North CarolinaLake Royale, NCLake RoyaleLake Royale

The short answer

Lake Royale is home to 3,168 people. Median household income is $107,806 a year and median rent is $1,390 a month, 15.5% 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 $280,400, about 2.6x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,390
2% above the median place
Median household income
$107,806
34% above the median place
Median home value
$280,400
12% below the median place
Unemployment
4.6%
6% 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 Lake Royale

  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 13.3% a year while rent rose 4.2%, so pay gained on rent more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 3rd-lowest of 160 North Carolina places.
  • Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 265 hours a year commuting, more than in 98% of places its size. It is the highest of 147 North Carolina places.
  • 37% of homes stand vacant, more than in 97% of places its size.
  • 95% of homes are owner-occupied, more than in 96% of places its size.
  • Half the homes were built after 2000, newer housing than in 90% of places its size.
01

Moving to Lake Royale

Franklin County gains about 34.5 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in6,027
Moved out3,998
Net+2,029

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Wake County, NC2,7741,337+1,437
Nash County, NC129189−60
Warren County, NC5778−21

Within North Carolina, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within North CarolinaOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$72K
Leavers$60K

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

Who moves here
5.7% 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 Franklin County report $72,300 a year in income on average; those leaving, $59,900, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$55,600 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,390 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,593 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $280,400.
Getting to work
37 minutes each way on average; 5.8% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Satsuma, AL matches it on character. Compare the two
Net movers per 1,000 people7
34.5
above the median place (median -0.6)
Income of households moving out7
$59,916
15% below the median place
Moved from another state1
1.4%
27% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureLake RoyaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure5.7%1% below
Moved from another state1County figure1.4%27% below
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure34.5above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$72,2902% above
Income of households moving out7County figure$59,91615% below
02

What it costs to live here

Vacant homes is 37.4%, above the median place (median 7.1%).

Lake Royale15.5%
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
$55,600
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
15.5%
24% below the median place
Home price to income
2.6x
32% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
15%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$94,100
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Lake Royale, $1,390 a month, and local prices for everything else (97.1 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Lake Royale, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Johnsburg, IL11.2% vs 15.5%$11,600Compare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Lake Royale.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Lake Royale? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Vacant homes1
37.4%
above the median place (median 7.1%)
Homeownership1
94.5%
42% above the median place
Median year built1
2000
1% above the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureLake RoyaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,3902% above
Rent to income115.5%24% below
Property tax rate10.6%37% below
Home price to income12.6x32% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure98.23% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,6895% above
HUD area median income4County figure$132,30023% above
Property tax paid (median)1$1,60451% below
Median home value1$280,40012% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure2.1%35% below
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure58.7%14% above
Homeownership194.5%42% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure54.6%8% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,59315% below
Vacant homes137.4%above (median 7.1%)
Median year built120001% above
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%)
Mean commute1
37 min
47% above the median place
Works from home1
5.8%
53% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureLake RoyaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$107,80634% above
Income per person1$47,72719% above
Unemployment1County figure4.6%6% below
Average annual pay6County figure$58,42911% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure2.2%41% below
Jobs6County figure14,54990% below
Poverty rate1County figure11.1%3% above
Mean commute137 min47% above
Works from home15.8%53% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Median age is 47.9, 23% above the median place.

Median age1
47.9
23% above the median place
Household size1
2.3
8% below the median place
Bachelor's or higher1
22.1%
31% below the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasureLake RoyaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population13,1686646th largest
Median age147.923% above
Bachelor's or higher122.1%31% below
High school or higher192.9%1% above
Household size12.38% below
Born abroad1County figure6.0%32% below
No health insurance1County figure9.2%44% above
Homes with broadband191.2%1% below
05

Life in Lake Royale

41 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k6.3 −33%
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 bars10.2 −51%
Shops19.8 −35%
Arts, recreation and fitness2.6 −37%
Doctors' offices and clinics6.9 −66%
Child care centers2.2 −4%

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

Restaurants and bars per 10k8
10.2
51% below the median place
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8
6.9
66% below the median place
Shops per 10k8
19.8
35% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureLake RoyaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11County figure19111% above
Public school students11County figure11,614137% above
Students per teacher11County figure16.89% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure10.251% below
Shops per 10k8County figure19.835% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure2.637% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure6.966% below
Child care centers per 10k8County figure2.24% below
Parks per 10k90.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k96.333% below
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k90.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails90.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings10County figure41215% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

Natural hazard risk is 51.7, 44% 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 Lake Royale. Larger places are fetched first.

Natural hazard risk13
51.7
44% below the median place
Wildfire risk13
27.0
56% below the median place
Heat wave risk13
67.7
25% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureLake RoyaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure90°F3% above
January average low12County figure29°F16% above
Average temperature12County figure60°F8% above
Annual precipitation12County figure46.8 in7% above
Natural hazard risk13County figure51.744% below
Hurricane risk13County figure74.66% above
Tornado risk13County figure70.813% below
Wildfire risk13County figure27.056% below
Heat wave risk13County figure67.725% below
Median air quality index14Metro figure442% above
Good air days14Metro figure66.3%3% below
08

Lake Royale in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 15% of the median income in 2030, down from 15% 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$1,390/mo (2024)$1,770/mo$1,450 to $2,150/mo+4.1%
Median household income$107,806 (2024)$142,500$120,500 to $168,500+4.8%
Median home value$280,400 (2024)$397,000$288,000 to $546,000+5.9%

The median home would be worth 2.8 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.6 now.

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

09

Places like Lake Royale

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

PlaceRentIncome
Satsuma, AL$1,300$101,042Compare
Shiloh, PA$1,530$94,324Compare
Lake Holiday, IL$1,496$107,875Compare
East Haven, CT$1,528$94,628Compare
East Haven, CTLake Holiday, ILShiloh, PASatsuma, ALLake Royale, NCLake RoyaleSatsumaShilohLake HolidayEast HavenLake RoyaleSatsumaShilohLake HolidayEast Haven

Common questions

Is Lake Royale a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 13.3% a year while rent rose 4.2%, so pay gained on rent more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 3rd-lowest of 160 North Carolina places. Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 265 hours a year commuting, more than in 98% of places its size. It is the highest of 147 North Carolina places. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Lake Royale expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 15.5% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $280,400.

What salary do you need to live in Lake Royale?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $55,600 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Lake Royale?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Satsuma, AL, Shiloh, PA, Lake Holiday, IL and East Haven, CT.

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. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. 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.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 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
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  14. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

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 Lake Royale with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Lake Royale itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/lake-royale-north-carolina

Citytistics. “Lake Royale, North Carolina.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/lake-royale-north-carolina/

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