What it's like to live in Mount Airy
Mount Airy is a small city in North Carolina with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Mount Airy deals with household incomes below the national average, a poverty rate above the national average, cold winters, and above-average rainfall.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Low crime rates
- Short commutes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- High poverty rate
- Cold winters
- Above-average rainfall
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Mount Airy compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Mount Airy
Based on Mount Airy's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,450
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $29,000 a year
- 45% of Mount Airy renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$36,380
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $18,190
- Homes cost 4.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 49% below US
$725/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $725 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $181,900. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $181,900 · 45% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.5% county unemployment
Unemployment in Surry County is 3.5%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Surry County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 40% below US
199 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 2083/100k · Mount Airy Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 32% below US
18 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 17.8 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 5% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 85°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 26°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 36% below US
23% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 23%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (50 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Mount Airy's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and a poverty rate above the national average. A year of median rent ($725/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, anyone prioritizing low crime, and people who want short commutes.
See all the data for Mount Airy →·All North Carolina cities →
Other places near Mount Airy
All North Carolina guides →Moving to Lewisville →
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Rent $1,095/mo · Income $100,917
Compare with Mount Airy →Moving to Winston-Salem →
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Rent $1,087/mo · Income $59,268
Compare with Mount Airy →Moving to Clemmons →
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