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%

Mar-Mac$850/mo

Typical home $149K (Census) · tax rate 0.55% · or rent about $821/mo · Housing →

Lowell$1,590/mo

Typical home $272K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.73% · or rent about $1,188/mo · Housing →

The difference: $740 a month, about $8,900 a year, between Lowell and Mar-Mac.

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.

Report cards

Lowell 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.

Safety

–Mar-MacNot graded C+LowellSafer than 42% of U.S. towns

Schools

–Mar-MacNot graded B−LowellBetter than 49% of districts in the state

Health

C+Mar-MacHealthier than 39% of U.S. towns C−LowellHealthier than 24% of U.S. towns

8Mar-Mac

10Lowell

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

Most remote workersWork · 285 towns #283#39 Lowest depressionHealth · 296 towns #63#258 Highest graduation rateSchools · 284 towns #276#133 Cheapest rentCost of living · 284 towns #56#166 Fastest growingGrowth · 291 towns #284#185 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 297 towns #188#91 Fewest smokersHealth · 296 towns #154#244 Lowest property taxCost of living · 297 towns #6#86

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

Mar-MacLowell

Snow a year2″1″

January low35°F 31°F

July high91°F 91°F

Growing season (days)250d 228d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)71st 30th

Outdoors & history

Mar-MacLowell

Trails—4 mi

Conserved land—4.4%

Settled—1879

Famous people born here—2

Community

Mar-MacLowell

Library hours a week—40 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.

Where they are

172 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Mar-MacNC LowellNC

Mar-Mac ↔ Lowell172 miles apart

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

Mar-MacLowell

People

Population 2,877Lowest 3,768Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -11.9%Lowest NC: +9.5% +3.6%Highest NC: +9.5%

Median age 39±11.7Lowest about the NC average 41.3±6.6Highest 6% above NC

Lowell and Mar-Mac are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 28.1%±6Highest NC: 21.8% 20.8%±5.7Lowest NC: 21.8%

Mar-Mac and Lowell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 16.5%±5.3Highest NC: 17.2% 16.1%±4.2Lowest NC: 17.2%

Mar-Mac and Lowell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 20.1%Lowest NC: 35.7% 23%Highest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.7%±3.1Highest NC: 6.4% 3.1%±2.5Lowest NC: 6.4%

Mar-Mac and Lowell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $53,819±$14kHighest 26% below NC $52,500±$14kLowest 27% below NC

Mar-Mac and Lowell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $149,200±$16kLowest 48% below NC $200,600±$76kHighest 31% below NC

Lowell and Mar-Mac are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $821±$56Lowest 33% below NC $1,188±$866Highest 3% below NC

Lowell and Mar-Mac are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $824Lowest 57% below NC $1,474Highest 22% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 68.2%±34.4Highest NC: 48.9% 45.6%±23.2Lowest NC: 48.9%

Mar-Mac and Lowell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 11.8%Lowest NC: 13% 17.4%Highest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 79.3%Highest NC: 66.6% 73.1%Lowest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1980Highest 11 yrs older than NC 1974Lowest 17 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 25 minHighest about the NC average 22 minLowest 12% below NC

Work from home 0.9%±1.6Lowest NC: 16.3% 24.4%±9.3Highest NC: 16.3%

Work in townworking residents 0.3%Lowest 3.2%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 16.3 miHighest 14.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.10Lowest 0.97Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Goldsboro (27%)Charlotte (33%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in LowellFew work in Mar-Mac

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.4%Lowest 4.4%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.6 miLowest 3.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 1.0 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 1Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 30.7Lowest 47.4Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#193 of 252 in NC

School district —Gaston County Schools

High school in town —None in town

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.

Mar-Mac neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mar-Mac’s Town Square.

Lowell neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lowell’s Town Square.

Add a town

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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.

Mar-Mac vs Lowell

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $740 more a month in Lowell

Lowell places higher on 10 of 18 NC lists

What daily life feels like in each

172 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Mar-Mac and Lowell

Towns like Mar-Mac

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