City safety & data profile
HickoryNC
Hickory, NC is a 40K-resident city in Catawba County with a median household income of $64,576.
Catawba County, North Carolina. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for Hickory, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. Hickory has a population larger than 74% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $278,400, and 2 hospitals serving the surrounding area.
Data updated 2026-07-20
- 40K
- Population
- Top 26%
- By size
- $64,576
- Median income
- $278,400
- Median home
- 17.1%
- Poverty rate
The read on Hickory
Hickory posts a median household income higher than 29% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 2 hospitals serve the Hickory area.
- Top 71%
- by median income, US cities
- 2
- hospitals in & near Hickory
Where Hickory income ranks nationally
Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)
$64,576 Bottom 29% higher than 29% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. 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 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year
The quick read
Reading Hickory, NC beyond the headline numbers
Hickory sits inside Catawba County, North Carolina, at roughly 35.73°N, -81.34°W. Population 40,374, $64,576 median household income. Median home value $278,400, median rent $1,063. Poverty rate 17.1%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.
CDC PLACES: Hickory's highest-prevalence health measure is obesity at 38%, then high blood pressure at 37.6%. 2 hospitals in/around Hickory, 2/5 avg rating, 2 with an ER.
Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for Hickory from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Comparison bars benchmark each metric against the national reference.
10-Year Trends 2013–2024
County-level trend (Catawba County) - Hickory's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.
Economics
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Median Rent | |
| Poverty Rate | 17.1% +20% vs avg |
| Unemployment | 3.8% |
| Bachelor's Degree+ | 37.1% |
| Work From Home | 12.9% |
| Public Transit | 0.1% |
Population
Health Profile 15 measures
Health Indicators
Preventive Care
Other Measures
Hospitals 2 total
Frequently Asked Questions 6
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What are the top health concerns in Hickory? ▼
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Safety Context
Hickory, NC is located in Catawba County, North Carolina. With a population of 40K and a $64,576 median household income, the community faces health challenges including obesity and high blood pressure. Residents have access to 2 hospitals with an average rating of 2/5 stars. Safety alerts for the Hickory area are monitored from federal and state agencies including FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC.
Safety Guides
Primary source data
EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data
Federal monitoring network, every measurement we report
AirNow - North Carolina
Real-time AQI for every monitored North Carolina location
National Weather Service
NOAA active watches, warnings, advisories
CDC Air Quality & Health
Health-impact reference for every AQI category
EPA NAAQS standards
National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the regulatory thresholds
Nearby Cities 8
Using Hickory's profile
Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.
- Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the Hickory area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
- Read the poverty rate alongside the income figure, two places with the same median can have very different realities.
- Compare Hickory against North Carolina peers on any ranking lens. Explore North Carolina
Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city.
Data Sources
All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Catawba County) where that is the smallest published unit.
Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census, CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.