Groundwork

Real estate · County · North Carolina

Real estate businesses in Rowan County, NC

The real estate businesses in Rowan County, NC, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 67 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #298 of 2,229 scored counties
#10 of 90 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
75
4 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments
80
+31.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$841.6M
On rent and homeowner costs · $14,289 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
259
2.6 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.7
67% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
155,096
+5.6% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Rowan 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 Rowan County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 75 real estate businesses in Rowan County. Chain locations make up 5% of them, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.7, 67% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Households in Rowan County spend about $841.6M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $14,289 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 2.6 times 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.

Official counts show 80 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Rowan County in 2023, up 31.2% from 2019. That is one for every 736 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Another 474 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates put the population change in Rowan County from 2020 to 2025 at +5.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in Rowan County is 67 (upper middle), #298 of 2,229 scored counties and #10 of 90 scored counties in North Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Rowan 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.

Real estate in Rowan County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureRowan CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.737.838.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)25992100
Households per official establishment736378414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+31.2%+20.8%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.6%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$14,289$15,139$16,661
Median household income$65,725$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score6740

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
61 → 80+31.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
128
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
474Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
754 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
194The 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 Rowan 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 Rowan County

Population, 2025 estimate
155,096+5.6% since 2020
Households
58,899
Median age
40.8
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
512 sq. mi.
People per square mile
293
Median household income
$65,725+31.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,650
Median home value
$238,400
Jobs located here
54,409
Daytime population
138,541Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Rowan 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 Rowan County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real 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 Rowan County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Duplin County, NC78178.2374+6.0%#52 of 2,229
2Perquimans County, NC7658.9369+3.6%#80 of 2,229
3Camden County, NC76615.0244+8.8%#90 of 2,229
4Yadkin County, NC75117.3445+2.9%#95 of 2,229
5Hoke County, NC752412.5264+9.0%#106 of 2,229
6Franklin County, NC753713.0263+18.8%#108 of 2,229
7Sampson County, NC71219.7312+4.1%#182 of 2,229
8Person County, NC712012.5264+3.7%#187 of 2,229
9Davidson County, NC7010014.3229+6.6%#208 of 2,229
10Rowan County, NC677512.7259+5.6%#298 of 2,229

Other business types in Rowan County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Rowan County, NC?

There are 75 real estate businesses on map listings in Rowan County as of September 2026. 4 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 80 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 31.2% from 2019. Official counts list 474 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Rowan County, NC spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $841.6M a year, or $14,289 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 75 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 2.6 times 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 58,899 households in Rowan County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Rowan County, NC compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Rowan County has 12.7 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 67% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 259, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Rowan County would have about 194, against 75 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 736 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 31.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is Rowan County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Rowan County at 155,096 people in 2025, up 5.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 58,899 households. The median household income in Rowan County is $65,725 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.9% 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. Rowan County scores 67 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #298 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rowan 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 Rowan County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Rowan 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 Rowan 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.