Tarboro, NC — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

Edgecombe County · Rocky Mount · population 10,954

AffordabilitySmall-town feel
View watchlist →
56
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Tarboro stands

Home values down 4.1% in the last year.

Median home $154,436
1-year -4.1%
5-yr CAGR +7.0%
vs 5-yr peak -4.6%
Population +0.5%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-02$154k$81k$110k$139k$168k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
25/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
15/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
70/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 12.8
Buy

At a 12.8 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Tarboro on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 12.8 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
30 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
74 · w22%
Distance from peak
62 · w18%
Population growth
56 · w16%
Home 10-yr CAGR
67 · w10%
Long thesis

Tarboro offers a $154,436 median home with +7.0% annualized 5-year appreciation. Affordability + positive trend is one of the better risk/reward setups in US residential — small downside, room to compound.

Short thesis

Tarboro is down 4.1% over the last 12 months and the trend isn't flattening. Falling knife rule applies: you don't catch one with your hands, you wait for it to hit the floor and stop moving.

About Tarboro

Tarboro is a city in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, with an estimated population of 10,954. It anchors the Rocky Mount metro area. The population grew 0.5% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Tarboro is $154,436 as of 2026-04, down 4.1% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +7.0% annual growth (-4.6% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Tarboro average $1,003 per month. The composite momentum score is 56 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

Bull case

Healthy 5-year run: +7.0% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
Cheap entry point: $154,436 median home is well below the US median of $355k — room to grow without overpaying.

Bear case

Cooling: -4.1% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Edgecombe County right now.

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Edgecombe County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Tarboro

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
50° / 30°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
88° / 68°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
213
~58% of year
Annual precip
50″ rain
6″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
High
Tornado
Moderate
Wildfire
Low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
High

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Tarboro listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Rocky Mount area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
71%
Humid climate
Median household income
$67,500
North Carolina state median
Top industries (state-level)
Banking (Charlotte)Tech (RTP)Manufacturing

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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