Real estate · County · North Carolina
Real estate businesses in Cleveland County, NC
How Cleveland County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #765 of 2,229 scored counties
#37 of 90 scored counties in North Carolina
- Listings
- 63
- 1 chain location (2%)
- Official establishments
- 50
- +8.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $530.5M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,654 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 194
- 94% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.2
- 58% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 103,325
- +3.4% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Cleveland County
The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 Cleveland County. 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 63 real estate businesses in Cleveland County. One of them (2%) is a chain location, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 16.2 for every 10,000 households, 58% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Cleveland County comes to about $530.5M a year: $13,654 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 94% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.
In 2023, official counts showed 50 businesses with payroll in Cleveland County classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 8.7% from 2019. That is one for every 777 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 235 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show Cleveland County grew 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in Cleveland County is 56 (upper middle), #765 of 2,229 scored counties and #37 of 90 scored counties in North Carolina.
How Cleveland County 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 | Cleveland County | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.2 | 37.8 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 194 | 92 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 777 | 378 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.7% | +20.8% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,654 | $15,139 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $58,534 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 46 → 50+8.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 108
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 235Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 631 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 123The 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 real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Cleveland County, 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 Cleveland County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 103,325+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 38,850
- Median age
- 41.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 464 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 218
- Median household income
- $58,534+38.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $76,018
- Median home value
- $200,000
- Jobs located here
- 34,727
- Daytime population
- 92,263Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Cleveland County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Cleveland County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Cleveland County marked.
Top counties in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Duplin County, NC | 78 | 17 | 8.2 | 374 | +6.0% | #52 of 2,229 |
| 2Perquimans County, NC | 76 | 5 | 8.9 | 369 | +3.6% | #80 of 2,229 |
| 3Camden County, NC | 76 | 6 | 15.0 | 244 | +8.8% | #90 of 2,229 |
| 4Yadkin County, NC | 75 | 11 | 7.3 | 445 | +2.9% | #95 of 2,229 |
| 5Hoke County, NC | 75 | 24 | 12.5 | 264 | +9.0% | #106 of 2,229 |
| 6Franklin County, NC | 75 | 37 | 13.0 | 263 | +18.8% | #108 of 2,229 |
| 7Sampson County, NC | 71 | 21 | 9.7 | 312 | +4.1% | #182 of 2,229 |
| 8Person County, NC | 71 | 20 | 12.5 | 264 | +3.7% | #187 of 2,229 |
| 9Davidson County, NC | 70 | 100 | 14.3 | 229 | +6.6% | #208 of 2,229 |
| 10Rowan County, NC | 67 | 75 | 12.7 | 259 | +5.6% | #298 of 2,229 |
| 37Cleveland County, NC | 56 | 63 | 16.2 | 194 | +3.4% | #765 of 2,229 |
Other business types in Cleveland County
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
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in Cleveland County, NC?
Cleveland County has 63 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (2%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 50 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 8.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 235 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Cleveland County, NC spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $530.5M a year, or $13,654 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 63 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 94% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 38,850 households in Cleveland County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Cleveland County, NC compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Cleveland County has 16.2 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 58% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 194, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Cleveland County would have about 123, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 777 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is Cleveland County, NC growing?
Population estimates put Cleveland County at 103,325 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 38,850 households. The median household income in Cleveland County is $58,534 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 38.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. 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. Cleveland County scores 56 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #765 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cleveland County. It maps the real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Cleveland County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Cleveland County?
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 Cleveland County. 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.