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Towns / North Carolina

Dobson, North Carolina

Dobson is a small town of about 1,500 people in Surry County, North Carolina. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Charlotte, is about 82 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
1,474
up 0.7% since 2020
Household income
$43,750
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural North Carolina
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Mount Airy, NC
To Charlotte
82 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Dobson to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Dobson itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byNorthern Regional Hospital in Mount Airy, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 82 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Dobson meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then
Up 23%Surry County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$528 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$43,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
49%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,290 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas, not Dobson alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,4742020: 1,464
Median age
35.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Manufacturing (32%); schools, health care and social services (22%); retail (8%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Northern Regional Hospital, Mount Airy, NC, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

7 public schools in Dobson, run by Surry County Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Surry Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on North Carolina's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
67%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
25°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
24 a year
Nights at or below freezing
111 a year
Rain and melted snow
50.5 inches a year
Snow
8 inches a year
Elevation
1,235 feet

Weather station: Mt Airy 2 W (8 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Northern Regional Hospital, Winston-Salem, Charlotte.

Surry County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Blue Ridge Parkway12 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail46 miles
  • Guilford Courthouse National Military Park52 miles

Read about Dobson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Dobson?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • White Plains, NC (unincorporated)795 people, 5 miles
  • Toast, NC (unincorporated)893 people, 9 miles
  • Flat Rock, NC (unincorporated)1,062 people, 11 miles
  • Lowgap, NC (unincorporated)264 people, 12 miles
  • Cana, VA (unincorporated)964 people, 13 miles
  • Pleasant Hill, NC (unincorporated)793 people, 13 miles
  • Smithtown, NC (unincorporated)211 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.