A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Conover$1,600/mo

Typical home $278K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.64% · or rent about $898/mo · Housing →

St. Stephens$1,200/mo

Typical home $213K (Census) · tax rate 0.46% · or rent about $958/mo · Housing →

The difference: $400 a month, about $4,800 a year, between Conover and St. Stephens.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

Conover and St. Stephens share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

ConoverSt. Stephens

Conover ↔ St. Stephens4.7 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

268 St. Stephens residents work in Conover (7% of its workers)

Work & commute in St. Stephens →

Report cards

St. Stephens places higher on 10 of 18 NC lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every North Carolina ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

B+ConoverBetter than 65% of districts in the state B+St. StephensBetter than 65% of districts in the state

Health

C+ConoverHealthier than 40% of U.S. towns B−St. StephensHealthier than 49% of U.S. towns

5Conover

10St. Stephens

Lists won, of 18 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest property taxCost of living · 297 towns #135#16 Best schoolsSchools · 252 towns #132#63 Shortest commuteGetting around · 297 towns #23#102 Most affordableCost of living · 297 towns #154#97 Most activeHealth · 296 towns #189#151 Fewest smokersHealth · 296 towns #189#154 HealthiestHealth · 296 towns #189#162 Most conserved landOutdoors · 276 towns #245#270

Left end = #1 in North Carolina. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Conover’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

ConoverSt. Stephens

Snow a year4″0″

January low29°F —

July high87°F —

Growing season (days)217d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)12th 22nd

Outdoors & history

ConoverSt. Stephens

Trails2 mi 0 mi

Conserved land0.6%0.1%

Settled1876 —

National Register places2 —

Archive photos4 —

Famous people born here2 —

Community

ConoverSt. Stephens

Library hours a week39 hrs 50 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs North Carolina average

ConoverSt. Stephens

People

Population 8,580Lowest 9,457Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +3.1%Highest NC: +9.5% +1.1%Lowest NC: +9.5%

Median age 36.8±9Lowest 6% below NC 43.2±2.3Highest 10% above NC

St. Stephens and Conover are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 30.5%±5.5Highest NC: 21.8% 22.9%±3.7Lowest NC: 21.8%

Conover and St. Stephens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 18%±4.4Lowest NC: 17.2% 20.3%±3Highest NC: 17.2%

St. Stephens and Conover are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 23.8%Lowest NC: 35.7% 25.7%Highest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.1%±1.2Lowest NC: 6.4% 5.6%±1.9Highest NC: 6.4%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $65,972±$10kHighest 9% below NC $60,394±$7kLowest 17% below NC

Conover and St. Stephens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $271,300±$30kHighest 6% below NC $213,300±$15kLowest 26% below NC

Rentmedian gross, monthly $898±$100Lowest 27% below NC $958±$94Highest 22% below NC

St. Stephens and Conover are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,723Highest 9% below NC $985Lowest 48% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 55.5%±16.3Lowest NC: 48.9% 60.6%±20.3Highest NC: 48.9%

St. Stephens and Conover are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 15.7%Lowest NC: 13% 16.2%Highest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 69%Lowest NC: 66.6% 83.6%Highest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1991Highest same as NC 1977Lowest 14 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minLowest 25% below NC 22 minHighest 11% below NC

Work from home 4.1%±2.4Lowest NC: 16.3% 5.5%±3.1Highest NC: 16.3%

St. Stephens and Conover are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 11.2%Highest 1.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.3 miHighest 7.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 2.76Highest 0.32Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Hickory (22%)Hickory (30%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in St. Stephens7% work in Conover

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.6%Highest 0.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 1.8 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 7Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 38.1 38.1

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #132 of 252 in NC #63 of 252 in NC

School district Catawba County Schools · Newton Conover City SchoolsCatawba County Schools

High school in town None in townSaint Stephens High

Students per teacherat that high school — 22.1

North Carolina average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Conover neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Conover’s Town Square.

St. Stephens neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to St. Stephens’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Conover and St. Stephens

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Conover

+ Compare

Newton13,333 people · $186K homes

+ Compare

Hickory44,258 people · $278K homes

Towns like Conover

+ Compare

Cherryville6,226 people · $232K homes

+ Compare

Butner8,065 people · $231K homes

+ Compare

Zebulon8,711 people · $321K homes

+ Compare

Dallas6,104 people · $254K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Conover vs St. Stephens

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $400 more a month in Conover

Conover and St. Stephens share a border

St. Stephens places higher on 10 of 18 NC lists

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Conover and St. Stephens

Bordering Conover

Towns like Conover

Post to Conover

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