What is the cost of living in Pinehurst-Southern Pines?

Pinehurst-Southern Pines has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 88.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 59.3, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,358/month.

What is the median salary in Pinehurst-Southern Pines?

The median salary in Pinehurst-Southern Pines is $59,014 annually (mean: $62,761). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.

How safe is Pinehurst-Southern Pines?

The violent crime rate in the Pinehurst-Southern Pines area is 365 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1930 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Pinehurst-Southern Pines?

The state of NC has 2,703 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Pinehurst-Southern Pines?

Infant center-based childcare in the Pinehurst-Southern Pines area averages $9,487 per year. Preschool averages $6,548/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Pinehurst-Southern Pines a good place to relocate?

Pinehurst-Southern Pines has a Life Score of 55.1/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Pinehurst-Southern Pines sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Pinehurst-Southern Pines ranks #138 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC

BEA RPP 88.3 ranks #59 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

88.3
Cost index (US=100): $1,358
2BR rent / mo: $59,014
Median salary: 54.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Pinehurst-Southern Pines ranks #138 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (54.4/100), with its strongest marks in safety and cost of living.

#138
of 387 US metros · Above median: 11,046,024
metro-area population: 365
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,703
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (11/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Pinehurst-Southern Pines ranks #138 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 88.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,358/mo, median salary $59,014; LiveAbility Score 54.4/100, strongest in safety and cost of living.

Signature: BEA RPP 88.3 ranks #59 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 88.3 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,358/mo.

LiveAbility 54.4/100 keeps Pinehurst-Southern Pines in the middle third (#138 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Pinehurst-Southern Pines area is 36,690.

Pinehurst-Southern Pines vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

54 Top 36% higher than 64% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Pinehurst-Southern Pines housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Pinehurst-Southern Pines MSA; housing RPP 59.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,358/mo.

Studio

$1,157

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,239

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,358

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,889

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,278

/month

Pinehurst-Southern Pines wages and employment

Pinehurst-Southern Pines posts 36,690 total employment with median salary $59,014 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$59,014

Mean Salary

$62,761

Total Employment

36,690

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$81,520
Retail Salespersons	$30,020
Cashiers	$27,710
Waiters and Waitresses	$34,080
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	$37,920

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Pinehurst-Southern Pines area from NCES.

Schools

2,703

Enrollment

1,544,406

Student:Teacher

15.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Pinehurst-Southern Pines area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$9,487

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,856

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,548

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Pinehurst-Southern Pines's composite Life Score is 55.1/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

85/100

Elite

Wages

11/100

Bottom decile

Rent

43/100

Below average

Crime

93/100

Elite

Schools

61/100

Above average

Childcare

58/100

Above average

Environment

36/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Pinehurst-Southern Pines ranks #138 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 54.4/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (93/100)

Safety

93
Cost of living

85
Climate

70
Housing

43
Low hazard

41
Schools

39
Job market

11

What this shows Pinehurst-Southern Pines's strongest dimensions are safety and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 11/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Pinehurst-Southern Pines to

Cheyenne Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Chico Cincinnati Clarksville Cleveland

Metros near Pinehurst-Southern Pines on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Pinehurst-Southern Pines on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Pinehurst-Southern Pines cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Pinehurst-Southern Pines wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Pinehurst-Southern Pines?

Pinehurst-Southern Pines runs a $59,014 median salary at a 88.3 cost index, ranking #138 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Pinehurst-Southern Pines's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Pinehurst-Southern Pines head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Pinehurst-Southern Pines
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.