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

D−SalisburySafer than 3% of U.S. towns DHickorySafer than 11% of U.S. towns

Schools

CSalisburyBetter than 34% of districts in the state BHickoryBetter than 62% of districts in the state

Health

C−SalisburyHealthier than 24% of U.S. towns B−HickoryHealthier than 50% of U.S. towns

5Salisbury

16Hickory

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 81 towns #61#9 Lowest depressionHealth · 296 towns #28#214 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 297 towns #15#186 Most trailsOutdoors · 177 towns #50#126 Best schoolsSchools · 252 towns #217#116 Most activeHealth · 296 towns #222#151 HealthiestHealth · 296 towns #227#159 Most remote workersWork · 285 towns #181#116

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

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

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%

Salisbury$1,680/mo

Typical home $282K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.86% · or rent about $1,071/mo · Housing →

Hickory$1,730/mo

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

Within $50 a month of each other.

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.

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

SalisburyHickory

Snow a year2″0″

January low29°F —

July high88°F —

Growing season (days)208d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)43rd 31st

Outdoors & history

SalisburyHickory

Trails15 mi 8 mi

Conserved land3.8%5.4%

Settled1763 1870

National Register places38 24

Archive photos12 12

Famous people born here—46

Community

SalisburyHickory

Library hours a week54 hrs 58 hrs

Colleges in town4 2

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

47 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

SalisburyNC HickoryNC

Salisbury ↔ Hickory47 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

SalisburyHickory

People

Population 35,825Lowest 44,258Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +5.6%Lowest NC: +9.5% +8.7%Highest NC: +9.5%

Median age 36.5±2Lowest 7% below NC 37.5±2.4Highest 4% below NC

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

Kids under 18 21.9%±2.3Highest NC: 21.8% 21.3%±1.9Lowest NC: 21.8%

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

Age 65+ 17.1%±1.5 NC: 17.2% 17.1%±1.4 NC: 17.2%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 29.9%Lowest NC: 35.7% 37.1%Highest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 9.4%±1.8Highest NC: 6.4% 7.9%±1.2Lowest NC: 6.4%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $53,716±$4kLowest 26% below NC $64,576±$5kHighest 11% below NC

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $242,500±$18kLowest 16% below NC $278,400±$19kHighest 4% below NC

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,071±$81Highest 13% below NC $1,063±$63Lowest 13% below NC

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,082Highest 10% above NC $2,066Lowest 9% above NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 53.8%±7Highest NC: 48.9% 40.3%±5.6Lowest NC: 48.9%

Below poverty line 26.3%Highest NC: 13% 17.1%Lowest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 51.8%Lowest NC: 66.6% 55%Highest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1976Lowest 15 yrs older than NC 1982Highest 9 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minHighest 13% below NC 21 minLowest 16% below NC

Work from home 8.7%±2.2Lowest NC: 16.3% 12.9%±2.7Highest NC: 16.3%

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

Work in townworking residents 24.7%Lowest 32.9%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 21.3 miHighest 8.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.96Lowest 2.33Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Charlotte (14%)Charlotte (8%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in HickoryFew work in Salisbury

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.8%Lowest 5.4%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 14.9 miHighest 8.1 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 14Lowest 16Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 63.2Highest 57.1Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #217 of 252 in NC #116 of 252 in NC

School district Rowan-Salisbury SchoolsCatawba County Schools · Hickory City Schools

High school in town Salisbury HighHickory High

Students per teacherat that high school 19.6Lowest 26.7Highest

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.

Salisbury neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Salisbury’s Town Square.

Hickory neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hickory’s Town Square.

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Bordering Salisbury

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Spencer3,349 people · $202K homes

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East Spencer1,434 people · $112K homes

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Granite Quarry3,043 people · $257K homes

Towns like Salisbury

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Statesville29,894 people · $248K homes

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Sanford31,478 people · $245K homes

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New Bern32,734 people · $240K homes

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Wilson48,370 people · $211K 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.

Salisbury vs Hickory

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

Hickory places higher on 16 of 21 NC lists

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

47 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Salisbury and Hickory

Bordering Salisbury

Towns like Salisbury

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