Burlington, NC
Burlington, NC Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole Burlington, NC Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, Burlington ranks 247th for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 233rd for income. A household earns $65,966 a year while median rent runs $1,218/mo, making it expensive relative to what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 7% below the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is hazard safety (95th of 300), while affordability is the soft spot (247th). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 138th and home prices 133rd among the 300 metros CityLedger tracks.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you in Burlington, your take-home is worth about $62,951 once local prices are factored in — local prices stretch it further than the U.S. average.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
The numbers
Income & cost
- Median income
- 233rd of 300↑12.8%$65,966
- Cost of living?The local price level vs. the U.S. average of 100 (BEA). Lower means cheaper. This is raw prices, not adjusted for income.
- 121st of 30093 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $70,782
- Per-capita income
- $36,314
- Full-time pay
- $41,138
Housing
- Median rent
- 138th of 300↑53%$1,218/mo
- Home value
- 133rd of 300↑73.7%$289,200
- Property tax
- $1,744/yr · 0.6%
- Sales tax
- 7.00%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 146th of 3004.4%
- Bachelor's+
- 198th of 30030.5%
- Avg commute
- 206th of 30025.8 min
People
- Population
- 183,040
- Population change
- +8%
- Median age
- 38.8 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 11.1%
- Broadband
- 92.7%
Environment & risk
- Natural-hazard loss
- 95th of 300$10/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 175th of 30019.3%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 12.2%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, FEMA, CDC, NOAA — every figure's source is listed on our methodology page. Data built 2026-06-14. ↑↓ mark the change since 2019.
How CityLedger scores it
Transparent weights — see our methodology.
Strengths
- + Hazard safety
Watch-outs
- – Affordability
- – Household income
- – Commute
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — burlington alamance rgnl ap.
What jobs pay in Burlington
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- IT managers
- $165,490
- Financial managers
- $134,760
- Pharmacists
- $130,730
- Software developers
- $127,570
- Lawyers
- $102,120
- Civil engineers
- $100,220
- General & operations managers
- $94,250
- Registered nurses
- $84,180
- Accountants & auditors
- $80,320
- Police officers
- $65,700
- Plumbers
- $56,890
- Elementary school teachers
- $56,740
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $56,290
- Electricians
- $51,400
- Secondary school teachers
- $49,680
- Carpenters
- $49,280
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $46,020
- Construction laborers
- $42,320
- Customer service reps
- $41,040
- Janitors
- $35,250
- Retail salespersons
- $29,630
- Waiters & waitresses
- $29,330
- Cashiers
- $28,690
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025 — annual median wage. Cross-industry, all experience levels.
Where new residents move from
The states sending the most people to the Burlington metro, by estimated movers (U.S. Census 2022 migration flows, 5-year). Moves from elsewhere in North Carolina are excluded to show where out-of-state arrivals originate.
- Virginia607
- Georgia393
- California375
- New York357
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like Burlington
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
Burlington metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the Burlington metro?
- Median gross rent across the Burlington, NC Metro Area is $1,218 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of Burlington.
- What is the median household income in the Burlington metro?
- A typical household in the Burlington, NC Metro Area earns $65,966 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is Burlington expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the Burlington, NC Metro Area runs about 7% below the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024) — prices are lower than average, before accounting for local pay.
- Does a paycheck go far in the Burlington metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $70,782 (versus its face value of $65,966). CityLedger rates the Burlington, NC Metro Area expensive for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the Burlington metro?
- The median home value across the Burlington, NC Metro Area is $289,200 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the Burlington metro?
- The unemployment rate in the Burlington, NC Metro Area is 4.4% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).