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%

Hickory$1,730/mo

Typical home $295K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.74% · or rent about $1,063/mo · Housing →

St. Stephens$1,200/mo

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

The difference: $530 a month, about $6,300 a year, between Hickory 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

Hickory and St. Stephens share a border

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

HickorySt. Stephens

Hickory ↔ St. Stephens3.4 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

1,131 St. Stephens residents work in Hickory (29.6% of its workers)

Work & commute in St. Stephens →

Report cards

Hickory places higher on 11 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.

Safety

DHickorySafer than 11% of U.S. towns –St. StephensNot graded

Schools

BHickoryBetter than 62% of districts in the state B+St. StephensBetter than 65% of districts in the state

Health

B−HickoryHealthier than 50% of U.S. towns B−St. StephensHealthier than 49% of U.S. towns

11Hickory

4St. Stephens

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

Most conserved landOutdoors · 276 towns #94#270 Lowest property taxCost of living · 297 towns #180#16 Most remote workersWork · 285 towns #116#236 Most walkableOutdoors · 297 towns #112#218 Fastest growingGrowth · 291 towns #139#209 Most affordableCost of living · 297 towns #160#97 Best schoolsSchools · 252 towns #116#63 Most educatedPeople · 297 towns #111#172

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

HickorySt. Stephens

Snow a year0″0″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)31st 22nd

Outdoors & history

HickorySt. Stephens

Trails8 mi 0 mi

Conserved land5.4%0.1%

Settled1870 —

National Register places24 —

Archive photos12 —

Famous people born here46 —

Community

HickorySt. Stephens

Library hours a week58 hrs 50 hrs

Colleges in town2 —

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

HickorySt. Stephens

People

Population 44,258Highest 9,457Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.7%Highest NC: +9.5% +1.1%Lowest NC: +9.5%

Median age 37.5±2.4Lowest 4% below NC 43.2±2.3Highest 10% above NC

Kids under 18 21.3%±1.9Lowest NC: 21.8% 22.9%±3.7Highest NC: 21.8%

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

Age 65+ 17.1%±1.4Lowest NC: 17.2% 20.3%±3Highest NC: 17.2%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 37.1%Highest NC: 35.7% 25.7%Lowest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 7.9%±1.2Highest NC: 6.4% 5.6%±1.9Lowest NC: 6.4%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $64,576±$5kHighest 11% below NC $60,394±$7kLowest 17% below NC

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $278,400±$19kHighest 4% below NC $213,300±$15kLowest 26% below NC

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,063±$63Highest 13% below NC $958±$94Lowest 22% below NC

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,066Highest 9% above NC $985Lowest 48% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 40.3%±5.6Lowest NC: 48.9% 60.6%±20.3Highest NC: 48.9%

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

Below poverty line 17.1%Highest NC: 13% 16.2%Lowest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 55%Lowest NC: 66.6% 83.6%Highest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1982Highest 9 yrs older than NC 1977Lowest 14 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 21 minLowest 16% below NC 22 minHighest 11% below NC

Work from home 12.9%±2.7Highest NC: 16.3% 5.5%±3.1Lowest NC: 16.3%

Work in townworking residents 32.9%Highest 1.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.8 miHighest 7.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 2.33Highest 0.32Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Charlotte (8%)Hickory (30%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in St. Stephens30% work in Hickory

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.4%Highest 0.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 8.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 16Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 57.1Highest 38.1Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #116 of 252 in NC #63 of 252 in NC

School district Catawba County Schools · Hickory City SchoolsCatawba County Schools

High school in town Hickory HighSaint Stephens High

Students per teacherat that high school 26.7Highest 22.1Lowest

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.

Hickory neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hickory’s Town Square.

St. Stephens neighborsTown Square →

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

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Set another town beside Hickory and St. Stephens

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Bordering Hickory

+ Compare

Mountain View3,982 people · $223K homes

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Long View5,011 people · $157K homes

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Brookford390 people · $131K homes

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Conover8,580 people · $271K homes

Towns like Hickory

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Salisbury35,825 people · $243K homes

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Kernersville27,830 people · $291K homes

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New Bern32,734 people · $240K homes

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Burlington59,610 people · $199K 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.

Hickory vs St. Stephens

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $530 more a month in Hickory

Hickory and St. Stephens share a border

Hickory places higher on 11 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 Hickory and St. Stephens

Bordering Hickory

Towns like Hickory

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