Counties / North Carolina / Bladen County

Bladen County, NC

FIPS 37017 · population 29,566 · outside every metro area

$157k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$157k
▼ 0.3% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$773
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$925
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

The annual signals disagree
FHFA five-year cumulative+60.4%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06−0.3%FHFA HPI2025+10.4%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$135k
Surveyed gross rent$773
Rent burden 30%+51.3%
Median year built1983
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
22.7%vacant
15,286estimated housing units
Occupied tenure30.8% renter
owner 69.2%renter 30.8%
Structure mix62.2% single-family
Single-family 62.2%20+ units 1.0%Mobile home 31.6%Other 5.1%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs12,526▼ 6.9% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments701annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$981▲ 5.4% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorManufacturing50.8% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−6.9%WEEKLY WAGE+5.4%Manufacturing50.8%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Bladen County is a price-validation and cash-flow diligence case, not a simple appreciation read; buyers relying on a countywide value signal should be cautious. Zillow’s median home value is $157,389, down 0.25% year over year, while FHFA’s annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 10.4%. The measures have different methods and source-period labels: the HPI is not a home value, and their changes cannot be averaged into a growth rate. Obtain parcel-level closed-sale comps and condition evidence before anchoring an acquisition price.

02Housing economics

Market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $925 per month is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate, and cannot fill that gap. The effective property-tax rate is 0.91%, with median annual tax of $1,227. These are partial carrying-cost inputs, not a rent-to-price relationship or net operating conclusion. Lease comps, actual collections, insurance quotations, vacancy and operating costs are needed.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s MLS listing market shows active supply up 51.4% year over year, an 89-day median marketing time, 16.21% of listings with reductions, and a 19.75% pending-to-active ratio. These are visible supply, seller-concession and marketing-time signals; listing prices are asks, while the pending ratio is not proof of buyer demand or closed-sale pricing. Net migration was 146 tax-return households, but in-movers’ average AGI was below out-movers’. Seven investor purchases among 179 total purchases, or 3.91%, indicate limited recorded non-occupant mortgage participation, not the entire buyer base.

04Risk & next checks

Hurricane is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.32% of building value; require site-specific flood, wind, insurance-availability and deductible review rather than a dollar-loss estimate. The annual QCEW series shows covered workplace employment down 6.89%, not resident employment, unemployment or a forecast. Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector, warranting employer-level review. Missing closed-sale comps, market rent, insurance quotes, property condition and flood-zone data prevent a supported yield, resale-liquidity or asset-risk conclusion.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Bladen County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Elizabethtown town3.3KBladenboro town2.2KWhite Lake town970Clarkton town740Kelly CDP616East Arcadia town444Dublin town349White Oak CDP191
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

10 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Elizabethtown townIncorporated place
    3,277
  2. 02
    Bladenboro townIncorporated place
    2,249
  3. 03
    White Lake townIncorporated place
    970
  4. 04
    Clarkton townIncorporated place
    740
  5. 05
    Kelly CDPCensus-designated place
    616
  6. 06
    East Arcadia townIncorporated place
    444
  7. 07
    Dublin townIncorporated place
    349
  8. 08
    White Oak CDPCensus-designated place
    191
  9. 09
    Tar Heel townIncorporated place
    69
  10. 10
    Butters CDPCensus-designated place
    62

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardhurricane

0.317% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.91%

$1,227 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+146

738 in · 592 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$7,436

$44,295 arriving · $51,731 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors3.9%

7 of 179 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings81▲ 51.4% year over year
Median days on market89▲ 31.9% year over year
Listings price-reduced16.2%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 2.6% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Parcel-level sales, rents and hazards may differ materially from county aggregates.
  2. MLS asking-price, pending and reduction indicators may not translate into closed-sale pricing or absorption.
  3. Property-specific insurance availability, premiums and deductibles may materially change carrying costs.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. Market rent is not published, and HUD FMR is not a market asking-rent substitute.

Do the price measures establish one countywide appreciation trend?

No. Zillow’s home-value measure and FHFA’s repeat-transaction index move in different directions and have different methods and source-period labels.

What physical-risk issue needs the most property-level diligence?

Hurricane exposure, including flood and wind risk, insurance availability and deductibles.