Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / North Carolina

Havelock, North Carolina

Havelock is a small town of about 17,400 people in Craven County, North Carolina. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Raleigh, is about 117 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
17,430
down 2.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$207,700
Craven County prices up 25% since 2022
Household income
$58,408
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural North Carolina
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Morehead City, NC
To Raleigh
117 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 moneyA typical home costs 3.6 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 Havelock 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 town9 public schools: 5 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byCarteret General Hospital in Morehead City, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRaleigh is about 117 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 Havelock 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
$207,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 25%Craven County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,280 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$58,408U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
41%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,758 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%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 25% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas, not Havelock 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
17,4302020: 17,898
Median age
24.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
6%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
14%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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
Retail (16%); schools, health care and social services (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Carteret General Hospital, Morehead City, NC, about 15 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

9 public schools in Havelock, run by Craven County Board of Education.

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
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%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
36°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
38 a year
Nights at or below freezing
38 a year
Rain and melted snow
57.4 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
21 feet

Weather station: Cherry Point Mcas (1 mile 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: Carteret General Hospital, Jacksonville, Raleigh.

Craven 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cape Lookout National Seashore20 miles
  • Cape Hatteras National Seashore51 miles

Read about Havelock's history on Wikipedia.

Know Havelock?

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

  • Cherry Branch, NC (unincorporated)1,684 people, 5 miles
  • Minnesott Beach, NC544 people, 7 miles
  • Arapahoe, NC432 people, 9 miles
  • Broad Creek, NC (unincorporated)1,836 people, 12 miles
  • Brandywine Bay, NC (unincorporated)1,313 people, 13 miles
  • Oriental, NC909 people, 15 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.