There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in North Carolina that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.
Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Tar Heel State are so lucky.
Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within North Carolina’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.
Like Stokesdale, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of North Carolina according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Stokesdale. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in North Carolina as well.
Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.
45.7 median age · 28.0% married households · #18 oldest in North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
46.4 median age · 21.0% married households · #14 oldest in North Carolina
Located in
Henderson County, North Carolina
Mills River is a town in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,802 at the 2010 census, and was estimated to be 7,168 in 2016. The town took its name from the nearby confluence of the Mills River and French Broad River. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was incorporated into a town in June 2003. Sierra Nevada opened a brewery in Mills River in 2014.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
44.2 median age · 25.0% married households · #24 oldest in North Carolina
Located in
Guilford County, North Carolina
Oak Ridge is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,185 at the 2010 census, up from 3,988 at the 2000 census. As of 2015 the population had risen to an estimated 6,671. Oak Ridge is 15 miles northwest of the center of Greensboro, North Carolina’s third-largest city, and it is a part of the Piedmont Triad urban area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
40.3 median age · 28.0% married households · #52 oldest in North Carolina
Located in
Granville County, North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
62.3 median age · 28.0% married households · #3 oldest in North Carolina
Located in
Brunswick County, North Carolina
Oak Island is a seaside town located mostly on the barrier island of Oak Island, in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The town extends onto the mainland north of the island’s bridge. The population was 6,783 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1999 by the consolidation of the towns of Long Beach and Yaupon Beach. Its main industry is tourism; the town has an average summer population of 30-50,000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
38.8 median age · 39.0% married households · #74 oldest in North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
42.3 median age · 31.0% married households · #36 oldest in North Carolina
Located in
Stokes County, North Carolina
King is a city in Stokes and Forsyth counties, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,904 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
51.2 median age · 33.0% married households · #8 oldest in North Carolina
Located in
Edgecombe County, North Carolina
Tarboro is a town located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 11,415. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. Tarboro is located near the western edge of North Carolina’s coastal plain. It has many historical churches, some dating from the early 19th century.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
40.8 median age · 30.0% married households · #46 oldest in North Carolina
Located in
Forsyth County, North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.0 median age · 37.0% married households · #70 oldest in North Carolina
Located in
Union County, North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Carolina’s statewide median.
On the map
Where the quiet settles in North Carolina
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Tar Heel State
You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in North Carolina. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.
Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.
To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.
We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. Some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:
- % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
- % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
- Average Age (higher is more boring)
- % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
- Population density (lower is more boring)
Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.
For this ranking, we used every North Carolina city with at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.
Grab your rocker and hold on.
We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the most boring cities in North Carolina.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In North Carolina For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Boring Score | Population | Average Age | % Married | % Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stokesdale | 21.30 | 6,004 | 45.7 | 28.0% | 35.1% |
| 2 | Mills River | 29.70 | 7,281 | 46.4 | 21.0% | 31.1% |
| 3 | Oak Ridge | 31.30 | 7,744 | 44.2 | 25.0% | 39.0% |
| 4 | Butner | 31.90 | 8,065 | 40.3 | 28.0% | 34.5% |
| 5 | Oak Island | 32.20 | 9,030 | 62.3 | 28.0% | 8.8% |
| 6 | Pleasant Garden | 33.90 | 5,060 | 38.8 | 39.0% | 36.5% |
| 7 | King | 35.10 | 7,408 | 42.3 | 31.0% | 32.6% |
| 8 | Tarboro | 38.20 | 10,770 | 51.2 | 33.0% | 21.6% |
| 9 | Lewisville | 38.90 | 13,828 | 40.8 | 30.0% | 38.0% |
| 10 | Unionville | 40.10 | 6,954 | 39.0 | 37.0% | 33.3% |
| 11 | Mount Airy | 40.40 | 10,633 | 46.0 | 22.0% | 27.3% |
| 12 | Sawmills | 41.70 | 5,042 | 38.8 | 33.0% | 30.9% |
| 13 | Boiling Spring Lakes | 43.10 | 6,347 | 47.1 | 18.0% | 21.0% |
| 14 | Mint Hill | 43.70 | 27,556 | 45.1 | 19.0% | 28.8% |
| 15 | Archer Lodge | 44.60 | 5,186 | 42.3 | 22.0% | 34.8% |
| 16 | Washington | 45.70 | 9,726 | 46.8 | 26.0% | 24.4% |
| 17 | Summerfield | 45.70 | 11,116 | 44.0 | 16.0% | 37.7% |
| 18 | Cherryville | 48.90 | 6,226 | 38.0 | 38.0% | 37.4% |
| 19 | Albemarle | 49.10 | 16,762 | 39.5 | 23.0% | 30.5% |
| 20 | Lenoir | 49.10 | 18,299 | 45.7 | 20.0% | 22.0% |
| 21 | Newton | 49.30 | 13,333 | 38.2 | 23.0% | 31.0% |
| 22 | Weddington | 49.30 | 13,805 | 43.3 | 15.0% | 51.0% |
| 23 | Trinity | 49.70 | 7,111 | 42.0 | 28.0% | 27.5% |
| 24 | Leland | 50.10 | 29,607 | 47.3 | 14.0% | 22.2% |
| 25 | Archdale | 50.30 | 12,087 | 46.1 | 26.0% | 25.0% |
| 26 | Nashville | 50.70 | 5,729 | 40.7 | 26.0% | 29.2% |
| 27 | Wesley Chapel | 50.70 | 9,090 | 41.7 | 12.0% | 47.0% |
| 28 | Smithfield | 50.70 | 12,116 | 44.9 | 20.0% | 25.6% |
| 29 | Locust | 51.40 | 5,840 | 36.2 | 30.0% | 32.3% |
| 30 | Oxford | 51.70 | 8,914 | 42.6 | 25.0% | 29.1% |
| 31 | Long View | 51.80 | 5,011 | 43.5 | 28.0% | 18.9% |
| 32 | Waynesville | 51.80 | 10,502 | 46.0 | 19.0% | 20.0% |
| 33 | Reidsville | 52.00 | 14,585 | 42.0 | 22.0% | 25.9% |
| 34 | Hillsborough | 52.30 | 9,724 | 42.5 | 15.0% | 30.2% |
| 35 | Mount Holly | 52.60 | 18,208 | 39.0 | 23.0% | 36.0% |
| 36 | Conover | 52.80 | 8,580 | 36.8 | 30.0% | 44.1% |
| 37 | Mocksville | 53.00 | 6,068 | 42.7 | 20.0% | 30.0% |
| 38 | Fletcher | 53.60 | 8,098 | 41.7 | 21.0% | 23.0% |
| 39 | Pinehurst | 54.70 | 18,256 | 60.6 | 13.0% | 16.7% |
| 40 | Rolesville | 55.50 | 10,766 | 40.6 | 18.0% | 49.1% |
| 41 | Marion | 56.10 | 7,579 | 39.1 | 23.0% | 32.0% |
| 42 | Rockingham | 56.20 | 8,967 | 39.2 | 28.0% | 30.6% |
| 43 | St. James | 56.40 | 7,072 | 68.0 | 4.0% | 2.2% |
| 44 | Clemmons | 57.70 | 21,871 | 41.8 | 21.0% | 30.5% |
| 45 | Williamston | 58.00 | 5,112 | 45.4 | 21.0% | 25.6% |
| 46 | Woodfin | 58.10 | 8,048 | 42.4 | 13.0% | 17.5% |
| 47 | Huntersville | 58.30 | 63,969 | 40.1 | 11.0% | 36.1% |
| 48 | Ayden | 58.50 | 5,150 | 41.9 | 28.0% | 29.6% |
| 49 | Black Mountain | 58.50 | 8,513 | 58.4 | 14.0% | 15.4% |
| 50 | Shelby | 58.60 | 22,100 | 39.3 | 25.0% | 27.6% |
| 51 | Clinton | 58.80 | 8,304 | 39.9 | 22.0% | 29.6% |
| 52 | Roxboro | 59.10 | 8,182 | 45.3 | 13.0% | 30.9% |
| 53 | Thomasville | 59.30 | 27,321 | 38.3 | 27.0% | 32.1% |
| 54 | Gibsonville | 59.90 | 9,467 | 39.8 | 26.0% | 33.9% |
| 55 | Cramerton | 60.40 | 5,450 | 34.0 | 25.0% | 33.8% |
| 56 | Dunn | 60.50 | 8,559 | 43.2 | 23.0% | 26.7% |
| 57 | Dallas | 60.70 | 6,104 | 40.9 | 22.0% | 30.2% |
| 58 | Aberdeen | 62.20 | 9,228 | 35.8 | 17.0% | 30.1% |
| 59 | Mebane | 63.50 | 19,538 | 38.5 | 17.0% | 35.0% |
| 60 | Kinston | 63.70 | 19,505 | 42.9 | 17.0% | 26.6% |
| 61 | Carolina Beach | 63.90 | 6,745 | 53.2 | 20.0% | 18.3% |
| 62 | Morganton | 63.90 | 17,646 | 37.8 | 20.0% | 29.0% |
| 63 | Kill Devil Hills | 64.10 | 7,761 | 48.5 | 10.0% | 23.7% |
| 64 | Wendell | 64.80 | 13,064 | 38.0 | 17.0% | 34.3% |
| 65 | Kings Mountain | 65.30 | 12,039 | 37.2 | 24.0% | 28.7% |
| 66 | Belmont | 65.30 | 15,546 | 39.4 | 17.0% | 25.1% |
| 67 | Harrisburg | 65.40 | 19,633 | 40.1 | 17.0% | 50.0% |
| 68 | Hamlet | 65.80 | 5,961 | 39.5 | 33.0% | 29.7% |
| 69 | Carolina Shores | 65.90 | 5,017 | 65.3 | 8.0% | 5.9% |
| 70 | Kannapolis | 65.90 | 57,890 | 36.9 | 19.0% | 32.3% |
| 71 | Marvin | 66.10 | 6,692 | 41.0 | 9.0% | 59.4% |
| 72 | Statesville | 66.30 | 29,894 | 37.1 | 15.0% | 32.2% |
| 73 | Stallings | 66.40 | 16,886 | 40.8 | 18.0% | 31.6% |
| 74 | Wilson | 66.40 | 48,370 | 39.5 | 24.0% | 30.8% |
| 75 | Angier | 66.60 | 6,241 | 39.9 | 15.0% | 29.8% |
| 76 | Roanoke Rapids | 66.90 | 14,856 | 40.3 | 29.0% | 29.5% |
| 77 | Zebulon | 68.80 | 8,711 | 38.3 | 10.0% | 33.9% |
| 78 | Southern Pines | 69.10 | 16,420 | 38.7 | 13.0% | 23.0% |
| 79 | Brevard | 69.50 | 7,897 | 50.3 | 13.0% | 18.4% |
| 80 | Eden | 69.70 | 15,356 | 36.8 | 22.0% | 28.9% |
| 81 | Graham | 69.70 | 18,048 | 37.8 | 20.0% | 27.9% |
| 82 | Rocky Mount | 71.10 | 54,297 | 40.7 | 19.0% | 25.4% |
| 83 | Laurinburg | 71.90 | 15,087 | 37.4 | 21.0% | 33.2% |
| 84 | New Bern | 71.90 | 32,734 | 38.9 | 15.0% | 25.5% |
| 85 | Sanford | 72.00 | 31,478 | 34.7 | 19.0% | 38.6% |
| 86 | Gastonia | 73.90 | 82,884 | 36.5 | 21.0% | 32.8% |
| 87 | Hendersonville | 74.50 | 15,408 | 53.2 | 11.0% | 15.5% |
| 88 | Lincolnton | 74.70 | 11,783 | 37.1 | 23.0% | 30.3% |
| 89 | Kernersville | 75.00 | 27,830 | 39.3 | 19.0% | 25.9% |
| 90 | Whispering Pines | 75.20 | 5,211 | 37.2 | 9.0% | 46.3% |
| 91 | Asheboro | 75.30 | 27,580 | 37.3 | 18.0% | 30.5% |
| 92 | Matthews | 76.20 | 30,577 | 40.1 | 14.0% | 28.3% |
| 93 | Cornelius | 76.30 | 32,783 | 44.0 | 8.0% | 29.2% |
| 94 | Lexington | 76.60 | 19,690 | 36.7 | 16.0% | 29.6% |
| 95 | Waxhaw | 78.10 | 22,275 | 36.2 | 8.0% | 59.4% |
| 96 | Concord | 78.50 | 108,719 | 36.5 | 15.0% | 38.9% |
| 97 | Wake Forest | 78.90 | 52,844 | 38.6 | 14.0% | 38.8% |
| 98 | Garner | 79.10 | 34,473 | 37.7 | 17.0% | 27.1% |
| 99 | Cary | 79.30 | 179,306 | 40.2 | 9.0% | 34.8% |
| 100 | Burlington | 80.00 | 59,610 | 40.1 | 18.0% | 28.1% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 136 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since North Carolina isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.
The most boring cities in North Carolina are Stokesdale, Mills River, Oak Ridge, Butner, Oak Island, Pleasant Garden, King, Tarboro, Lewisville, and Unionville.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in North Carolina, according to science.
