Real estate · Small-town market · North Carolina
Real estate businesses in the Washington, NC area
How the Washington, NC area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #302 of 536 scored small-town markets
#13 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 37
- 1 chain location (3%)
- Official establishments
- 26
- +23.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $266.1M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,727 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 166
- 66% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 19.1
- 50% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 44,670
- 0.0% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Washington 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 Washington 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
At $13,727 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in the Washington area spend about $266.1M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 66% 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.
The Washington area has 37 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (3%) is a chain location, against 6% across the U.S. That is 19.1 per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Washington area in 2023, up 23.8% from 2019. That is one for every 746 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts also show 165 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Washington area from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Washington area is 46 (lower middle), #302 of 536 scored small-town markets and #13 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Washington 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 | Washington area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 19.1 | 37.8 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 166 | 92 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 746 | 378 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +23.8% | +20.8% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,727 | $15,139 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $58,357 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 46 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 26+23.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 107
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 165Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 371 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 61The 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 Washington 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 Washington area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 44,6700.0% since 2020
- Households
- 19,385
- Median age
- 46.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 833 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 53
- Median household income
- $58,357+29.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,141
- Median home value
- $192,700
- Jobs located here
- 16,163
- Daytime population
- 41,743Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington 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 |
| 13Washington, NC | 46 | 37 | 19.1 | 166 | 0.0% | #302 of 536 |
Other business types in the Washington 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 Washington, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 37 real estate businesses in the Washington area. One of them (3%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 23.8% from 2019. Another 165 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Washington, NC area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $266.1M a year, or $13,727 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 37 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 66% 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,385 households in the Washington area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Washington, NC area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Washington area has 19.1 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 166, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Washington area would have about 61, against 37 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 746 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 23.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the Washington, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Washington area at 44,670 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,385 households. Median household income in the Washington area is $58,357, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.1%, 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 Washington area scores 46 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #302 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 Washington 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 Washington area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Washington 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 Washington 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.