Health care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Medical and dental practices in the Morehead City, NC area
The medical and dental practices in the Morehead City, NC area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #325 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 203
- 31 chain locations (15%)
- Official establishments
- 113
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $35.4M
- On medical and dental services · $1,106 a household
- Spending per listing
- $174K
- 14% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 63.5
- 25% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 70,469
- +4.1% since 2020
See the medical and dental practices around any address in the Morehead City area
The site report maps the medical and dental practices on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Morehead City area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 203 medical and dental practices in the Morehead City area. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 11% across the U.S. That comes to 63.5 for every 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 84.5.
Household spending on medical and dental services in the Morehead City area comes to about $35.4M a year: $1,106 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $174K of household spending for each practice on map listings, 14% above the U.S. figure of $152K.
In 2023, official counts showed 113 businesses with payroll in the Morehead City area classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 283 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. Another 93 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.2M has gone to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Morehead City area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Morehead City area grew 4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For medical and dental practices, the Morehead City area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #325 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Morehead City area compares
The same measures for North Carolina and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all medical and dental services by the medical and dental practices counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Morehead City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 63.5 | 83.3 | 84.5 |
| Spending per listing | $174K | $134K | $152K |
| Households per official establishment | 283 | 345 | 270 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +3.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,106 | $1,116 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $72,322 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1130.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,115
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $88.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 93Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 20331 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 232The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $1.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Morehead City area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Morehead City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 70,469+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 31,977
- Median age
- 49.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 508 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 136
- Median household income
- $72,322+26.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $99,351
- Median home value
- $333,300
- Jobs located here
- 23,748
- Daytime population
- 65,592Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Morehead City area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the medical and dental practices on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Morehead City area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardDoctors, dentists and clinics across North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for medical and dental practices, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Morehead City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 80 | 203 | 40.7 | $263K | +12.3% | #28 of 538 |
| 2New Bern, NC | 56 | 270 | 51.5 | $198K | +3.6% | #214 of 538 |
| 3Wilson, NC | 54 | 174 | 52.6 | $185K | +1.7% | #236 of 538 |
| 4Albemarle, NC | 52 | 183 | 72.5 | $140K | +9.8% | #258 of 538 |
| 5Marion, NC | 50 | 99 | 53.1 | $183K | +1.5% | #270 of 538 |
| 6Forest City, NC | 50 | 158 | 59.3 | $160K | +2.1% | #274 of 538 |
| 7Waynesville, NC | 48 | 167 | 61.6 | $166K | +1.9% | #290 of 538 |
| 8Brevard, NC | 47 | 90 | 61.7 | $171K | +2.9% | #297 of 538 |
| 9Sanford, NC | 47 | 174 | 69.2 | $148K | +10.8% | #304 of 538 |
| 10Morehead City, NC | 45 | 203 | 63.5 | $174K | +4.1% | #325 of 538 |
Other business types in the Morehead City area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
- Doctors, dentists and clinics45
- Dentists and orthodontists37
- Primary care and pediatrics43
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors74
- Physical therapy48
- Optometrists and eye care54
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many medical and dental practices are in the Morehead City, NC area?
The Morehead City area has 203 medical and dental practices on map listings as of September 2026. 31 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count every outpatient clinic and practice, and urgent care. Official counts show 113 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts list 93 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Morehead City, NC area spend on medical and dental services?
About $35.4M a year, or $1,106 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 203 medical and dental practices on map listings, it comes to $174K per practice. It is estimated from the incomes of the 31,977 households in the Morehead City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Morehead City, NC area compare with the U.S. for medical and dental practices?
The Morehead City area has 63.5 medical and dental practices per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 84.5. Spending per practice is $174K, 14% above the U.S. figure of $152K. At the national ratio of medical and dental practices to household spending, the Morehead City area would have about 232, against 203 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 283 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Morehead City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Morehead City area at 70,469 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 31,977 households. Median household income in the Morehead City area is $72,322, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.5%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Morehead City area scores 45 for medical and dental practices (lower middle), #325 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Morehead City area. It maps the medical and dental practices on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for medical and dental practices · All 56 business types in the Morehead City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Morehead City area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Morehead City area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.