What is the cost of living in Rocky Mount?

Rocky Mount has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 88.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 56.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,143/month.

What is the median salary in Rocky Mount?

The median salary in Rocky Mount is $58,055 annually (mean: $61,011). Top occupations include Cashiers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Rocky Mount?

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

What are the schools like in Rocky Mount?

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 Rocky Mount?

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

Is Rocky Mount a good place to relocate?

Rocky Mount has a Life Score of 61.8/100 (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 places Rocky Mount in the top decile of scored metros, a genuinely strong all-around profile.

Where does Rocky Mount sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Rocky Mount ranks #22 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

Rocky Mount, NC

LiveAbility 63.4/100 places Rocky Mount #22 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

88.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,143
2BR rent / mo: $58,055
Median salary: 63.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Rocky Mount ranks #22 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (63.4/100), with its strongest marks in safety and cost of living.

#22
of 387 US metros · Excellent: 11,046,024
metro-area population: 365
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,703
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (20/100). 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), Rocky Mount ranks #22 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 88.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,143/mo, median salary $58,055; LiveAbility Score 63.4/100, strongest in safety and cost of living.

Signature: LiveAbility 63.4/100 places Rocky Mount #22 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 88.0 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,143/mo.

LiveAbility 63.4/100 puts Rocky Mount in the top third (#22 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Rocky Mount area is 47,780.

Rocky Mount 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)

63 Top 6% higher than 94% 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

Rocky Mount housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Rocky Mount MSA; housing RPP 56.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,143/mo.

Studio

$913

/month

1 Bedroom

$918

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,143

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,550

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,812

/month

Rocky Mount wages and employment

Rocky Mount posts 47,780 total employment with median salary $58,055 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$58,055

Mean Salary

$61,011

Total Employment

47,780

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Cashiers	$26,610
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$36,550
Retail Salespersons	$28,830
Cooks, Fast Food	$23,710
Stockers and Order Fillers	$35,050

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$9,487

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,856

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,548

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Rocky Mount's composite Life Score is 61.8/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

87/100

Elite

Wages

20/100

Weak

Rent

74/100

Strong

Crime

93/100

Elite

Schools

62/100

Above average

Childcare

57/100

Above average

Environment

37/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Rocky Mount ranks #22 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 63.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (93/100)

Safety

93
Cost of living

87
Air quality

84
Housing

74
Climate

70
Low hazard

40
Schools

38
Job market

20

What this shows Rocky Mount's strongest dimensions are safety and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 20/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Rocky Mount to

Napa Naples-Marco Island Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin New Haven New Orleans-Metairie New York-Newark-Jersey City

Metros near Rocky Mount on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Rocky Mount 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

Rocky Mount cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount?

Rocky Mount runs a $58,055 median salary at a 88.0 cost index, ranking #22 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Rocky Mount's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Rocky Mount head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Rocky Mount
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.