Real estate · Small-town market · North Carolina
Real estate businesses in the Morehead City, NC area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in the Morehead City, NC area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #484 of 536 scored small-town markets
#21 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 218
- 8 chain locations (4%)
- Official establishments
- 111
- +27.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $481.4M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $15,054 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 51
- 49% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 68.2
- 77% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 70,469
- +4.1% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Morehead City area
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 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
The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Morehead City area is 33 (lower middle), #484 of 536 scored small-town markets and #21 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Morehead City area comes to about $481.4M a year: $15,054 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 49% below 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.
The Morehead City area has 218 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 4% of them, against 6% across the U.S. That is 68.2 per 10,000 households, 77% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 111 businesses with payroll in the Morehead City area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 27.6% from 2019. That is one for every 288 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Morehead City area grew 4.1% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Morehead 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 | Morehead City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 68.2 | 37.8 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 51 | 92 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 288 | 378 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +27.6% | +20.8% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $15,054 | $15,139 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $72,322 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 33 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 111+27.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 532
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $26.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 640Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2188 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 111The 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 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 real estate businesses 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 cardReal estate across North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for real estate businesses, 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 | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 69 | 81 | 16.3 | 207 | +12.3% | #55 of 536 |
| 2Lumberton, NC | 66 | 42 | 9.7 | 292 | +3.4% | #73 of 536 |
| 3North Wilkesboro, NC | 66 | 29 | 10.7 | 279 | +0.6% | #74 of 536 |
| 4Kinston, NC | 60 | 32 | 13.7 | 214 | +1.4% | #129 of 536 |
| 5Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 60 | 63 | 16.2 | 194 | +3.4% | #131 of 536 |
| 6Laurinburg, NC | 59 | 15 | 11.9 | 248 | −0.3% | #139 of 536 |
| 7Elizabeth City, NC | 55 | 52 | 32.9 | 99 | +4.5% | #202 of 536 |
| 8Roanoke Rapids, NC | 54 | 26 | 9.2 | 321 | −4.3% | #203 of 536 |
| 9Mount Airy, NC | 53 | 61 | 20.4 | 152 | +1.3% | #229 of 536 |
| 10Albemarle, NC | 53 | 57 | 22.6 | 143 | +9.8% | #231 of 536 |
| 21Morehead City, NC | 33 | 218 | 68.2 | 51 | +4.1% | #484 of 536 |
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
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Morehead City, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 218 real estate businesses in the Morehead City area. 8 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 111 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 27.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 640 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Morehead City, NC area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $481.4M a year, or $15,054 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 218 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 49% below 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. 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 real estate businesses?
The Morehead City area has 68.2 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 77% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 51, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Morehead City area would have about 111, against 218 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 288 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 27.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% 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 33 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #484 of 536 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 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 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.