Real estate · Small-town market · North Carolina
Mortgage brokers and lenders in the Forest City, NC area
How the Forest City, NC area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for mortgage brokers and lenders: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #41 of 177 scored small-town markets
#4 of 10 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 6
- 2 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $351.3M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,185 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 150
- 50% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.3
- 47% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 65,745
- +2.1% since 2020
See the mortgage brokers and lenders around any address in the Forest City area
The site report maps the mortgage brokers and lenders 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 Forest 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
Households in the Forest City area spend about $351.3M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $13,185 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 50% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money mortgage brokers and lenders take in.
The Forest City area has 6 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 21% across the U.S. That comes to 2.3 for every 10,000 households, 47% below the U.S. rate of 4.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in the Forest City area classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders. That is one for every 8,881 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Forest City area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Forest City area scores 62 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for mortgage brokers and lenders, ranking #41 of 177 scored small-town markets and #4 of 10 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Forest City area compares
The same measures for North Carolina and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Forest City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.3 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 150 | 95 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 8,881 | 5,469 | 4,897 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +19.9% | +9.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,185 | $15,139 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $51,410 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 47 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 4
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $350K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 62 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 9The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders in the Forest 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 Forest City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 65,745+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 26,642
- Median age
- 44.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 565 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 115
- Median household income
- $51,410+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,230
- Median home value
- $201,800
- Jobs located here
- 19,241
- Daytime population
- 55,091Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Forest 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 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Forest City area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardMortgage brokers and lenders across North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for mortgage brokers and lenders, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Forest City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 74 | 5 | 1.3 | 272 | +3.4% | #13 of 177 |
| 2Anderson Creek, NC | 73 | 13 | 2.6 | 143 | +12.3% | #17 of 177 |
| 3Sanford, NC | 65 | 8 | 3.2 | 114 | +10.8% | #34 of 177 |
| 4Forest City, NC | 62 | 6 | 2.3 | 150 | +2.1% | #41 of 177 |
| 5New Bern, NC | 61 | 14 | 2.7 | 135 | +3.6% | #45 of 177 |
| 6Mount Airy, NC | 59 | 6 | 2.0 | 171 | +1.3% | #51 of 177 |
| 7Boone, NC | 56 | 5 | 2.4 | 149 | +0.6% | #70 of 177 |
| 8Morehead City, NC | 47 | 12 | 3.8 | 103 | +4.1% | #100 of 177 |
| 9Wilson, NC | 38 | 13 | 3.9 | 88 | +1.7% | #130 of 177 |
| 10Kill Devil Hills, NC | 28 | 15 | 8.9 | 47 | +3.3% | #159 of 177 |
Other business types in the Forest 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
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
- Real estate36
- Real estate agents and brokers37
- Property management52
- Mortgage brokers and lenders62
- Home inspectors
Funeral services
Questions
How many mortgage brokers and lenders are in the Forest City, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 6 mortgage brokers and lenders in the Forest City area. 2 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders in 2023.
How much do households in the Forest City, NC area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $351.3M a year, or $13,185 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 6 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings, housing spending per office is 50% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money mortgage brokers and lenders take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,642 households in the Forest City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Forest City, NC area compare with the U.S. for mortgage brokers and lenders?
The Forest City area has 2.3 mortgage brokers and lenders per 10,000 households, 47% below the U.S. rate of 4.3. The index of housing spending per office is 150, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of mortgage brokers and lenders to household spending, the Forest City area would have about 9, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,881 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S.
How fast is the Forest City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Forest City area at 65,745 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,642 households. Median household income in the Forest City area is $51,410, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.7%, 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 Forest City area scores 62 for mortgage brokers and lenders (upper middle), #41 of 177 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Forest City area. It maps the mortgage brokers and lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders · All 56 business types in the Forest City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Forest 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 Forest 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.