Living in Enfield, North Carolina: homes, schools and costs

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 moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Enfield 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 town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Southeast Halifax Collegiate Prep Academ, about 7 miles away.
A hospital close byUNC Health Nash in Rocky Mount, about 18 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityRaleigh is about 59 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 Enfield 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

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $105,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 23%Halifax County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $34,830U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $975 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940: 11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 Enfield 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: 1,7772020: 1,859
Median age: 36.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 32%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 10%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%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: Schools, health care and social services (25%); retail (13%)
Work from home: 1%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 21%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UNC Health Nash, Rocky Mount, NC, about 18 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

3 public schools in Enfield, run by Halifax County Schools. The nearest public high school is Southeast Halifax Collegiate Prep Academ, about 7 miles away.

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: 58%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 73%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: 32°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 41 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 59 a year
Rain and melted snow: 47.7 inches a year
Snow: 3 inches a year
Elevation: 106 feet

Weather stations: Roanoke Rapids Ap (18 miles away) and Enfield (1 mile away, rain and snow). 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

UNC Health NashEmergency room18

Rocky Mount, NCCity of 55,00017

Raleigh, NCMetro of 1.6 million59

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: UNC Health Nash, Rocky Mount, Raleigh.

Halifax County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Enfield Historic District and Myrtle Lawn.

Read about Enfield's history on Wikipedia.

Know Enfield?

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

Scotland Neck, NC1,600 people, 14 miles
Red Oak, NC3,500 people, 15 miles
Dortches, NC1,100 people, 16 miles
Rocky Mount, NC55,000 people, 17 miles
Weldon, NC1,400 people, 17 miles
Roanoke Rapids, NC14,400 people, 18 miles

Smaller places

Whitakers, NC646 people, 6 miles
Halifax, NC157 people, 11 miles

Sources

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.