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Mocksville, North Carolina

Mocksville is a small town of about 6,300 people in Davie County, North Carolina. It's the county seat. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.3 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, Charlotte, is about 50 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
6,282
up 6.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$240,700
Davie County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$55,367
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Winston area
92
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
16 miles
Salisbury, NC
To Charlotte
50 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8% below the U.S. average in the Winston-Salem metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.3 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 Mocksville 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 town8 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byNovant Health Rowan Medical Center in Salisbury, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 50 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 Mocksville 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
$240,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Davie County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$892 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$55,367U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
62%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,395 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92U.S. average = 100 (the Winston-Salem metro area)

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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Winston-Salem metro area, not Mocksville 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
6,2822020: 5,917
Median age
42.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%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 (25%); schools, health care and social services (18%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Novant Health Rowan Medical Center, Salisbury, NC, about 16 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

8 public schools in Mocksville, run by Davie County Schools.

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
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
41 a year
Nights at or below freezing
116 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.9 inches a year
Snow
4 inches a year
Elevation
789 feet

Weather station: Mocksville 5SE (5 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: Novant Health Rowan Medical Center, Winston-Salem, Charlotte.

Davie County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Cooleemee, the Hinton Rowan Helper House, the Boxwood Lodge and the Downtown Mocksville Historic District. Two are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Guilford Courthouse National Military Park43 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway45 miles

Read about Mocksville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mocksville?

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

  • Farmington, NC (unincorporated)409 people, 8 miles
  • Advance, NC (unincorporated)1,408 people, 10 miles
  • Yadkin College, NC (unincorporated)400 people, 10 miles
  • Harmony, NC619 people, 13 miles
  • Cleveland, NC902 people, 13 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.