CITY PROFILE
Hickory, NC
“Small-town peace, but your career options fit in a shoebox.”
By the numbers
| Typical home value | $272K · Zillow, May 2026 (ZHVI) |
|---|---|
| Typical rent | $1,496/mo · Zillow, May 2026 (ZORI) |
| Average temperature | 15.2°C · warmest 26.4°C · coolest 3.3°C · NASA POWER |
| Annual precipitation | 1132 mm · NASA POWER |
| Sunshine (solar energy) | 4.44 kWh/m²/day · NASA POWER (annual mean) |
| Metro size rank (US) | #150 · Zillow SizeRank |
Match scores
- Affordable to buy93
- Affordable to rent82
- Climate comfort77
- Plenty of sunshine57
- Big-city amenities2
Scores are 0–100, normalised across the metros we cover, derived from the sourced figures above (higher = better on that factor). A research aid, not a recommendation to move. Job market, safety, and healthcare access need key-gated feeds (BLS, FBI, Census) not yet wired — see the methodology.