Rent affordability
How much rent can you afford in Hickory, NC?
You need an income of about $38,520 a year to rent a typical 1-bedroom in Hickory under the 30% rule. That apartment rents for about $737 a month in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro as of August 2026, plus about $226 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. At Hickory's median household income of $64,576, the rule leaves about $1,388 a month for rent.
- Metro 1-bedroom
- $737 / month
- Income needed
- $38,520 / year
- Housing share
- 18% of gross
- Apartment utilities
- $141 / month
Max rent in Hickory, NC
$1,388/mo
30% of gross income is $1,614 a month. Utilities, internet, and renters insurance take $226, which leaves $1,388 for rent.
A typical 1-bedroom in the Hickory metro rents for about $737, $651 under your max.
- Take-home
- $4,277/moAfter estimated federal tax, state tax, and FICA.
- Move-in cash
- $2,776First month and a one-month deposit, at your max rent.
- Landlord screen
- $1,793/moHighest rent if a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
Monthly budget
Where take-home pay of $4,277 goes at your max rent of $1,388. Each slice is its share of take-home.
- Rent33%$1,388
- Electric, gas, water3%$141
- Internet2%$71
- Renters insurance<1%$14
- Left over62%$2,663
Housing comes to $1,614 a month, 30% of gross income and 38% of take-home. That leaves $2,663 for food, transportation, savings, and everything else.
Search Hickory, NC
Find 1-bedrooms in Hickory, NC under $1,350
Rounded down from your max rent of $1,388.
What renters in Hickory pay and earn
Of the 18,042 households in Hickory, 45% rent. The median renter household earns $44,610 a year. Median gross rent, which is rent plus utilities across every lease including ones signed years ago, is $1,063 a month. 40% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 16% spend half or more.
The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro's 1-bedroom asking rent of $737 is 22% below the $940 median gross rent for a 1-bedroom in Hickory, which includes utilities.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024, for Hickory city, North Carolina. See how Hickory compares in the affordability rankings.
Rent in Hickory
Hickory is the main city of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro. Updated August 2026, +3.5% from a year earlier. The 1-bedroom median moved from $712 in August 2025 to $737 in August 2026. The 2-bedroom median moved from $887 in August 2025 to $919 in August 2026. Studio and 3-bedroom figures are estimates scaled from the published 1- and 2-bedroom medians.
This series is the metro median from Apartment List, not a single building. brightplace also stores each community's asking rent from daily listing scrapes. That history stays on the property page, because a building's price is not the city median. brightplace lists 5 apartment communities with units available in Hickory. Browse communities in Hickory.
How median rent changed
Each point is the overall median asking rent for one month. The vertical scale runs from the low to the high in this period, not from zero. Percentages on the right are the change since August 2025, marked by the dashed line.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC median rent: $920 in August 2025 to $952 in August 2026, up 3.5%. Low $915, high $952. 1-bedroom $737 in August 2026. 2-bedroom $919 in August 2026.
| Month | Overall | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | $920 | $712 | $887 |
| September 2025 | $920 | $712 | $887 |
| October 2025 | $924 | $715 | $891 |
| November 2025 | $923 | $715 | $891 |
| December 2025 | $928 | $719 | $896 |
| January 2026 | $915 | $708 | $883 |
| February 2026 | $919 | $711 | $886 |
| March 2026 | $915 | $709 | $883 |
| April 2026 | $918 | $711 | $886 |
| May 2026 | $919 | $712 | $887 |
| June 2026 | $927 | $718 | $895 |
| July 2026 | $946 | $732 | $913 |
| August 2026 | $952 | $737 | $919 |
True monthly cost
What a typical apartment costs each month at the metro median rent: rent plus an apartment utility estimate, state-average internet, and state-average renters insurance. Studio and 3-bedroom rents are estimates. Utilities and insurance are estimates, not a quote from a building.
| Cost | Studio | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom | 3-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | $666 | $737 | $919 | $1,305 |
| Utilities (estimate) | $127 | $141 | $206 | $293 |
| Internet (estimate) | $71 | $71 | $71 | $71 |
| Renters insurance (estimate) | $14 | $14 | $14 | $14 |
| Total | $878 | $963 | $1,210 | $1,683 |
No city utility median is on file, so the estimate uses North Carolina's statewide utility average.
Take-home pay and max rent
Single filer, standard deduction, estimated North Carolina income tax and FICA. Max rent is 30% of gross minus about $226 a month for 1-bedroom utilities, internet, and renters insurance. The landlord column is the highest rent when a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
| Gross income | Take-home / month | Max rent | Landlord screen |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,718 | $774 | $1,111 |
| $60,000 | $3,987 | $1,274 | $1,666 |
| $80,000 | $5,143 | $1,774 | $2,222 |
| $100,000 | $6,244 | $2,274 | $2,777 |
Rent versus buying in the metro
A monthly ownership cost is not published for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC. The metro's price-to-income ratio is 4.61. The ratio was down 0.4% from a year earlier. Over five years it was up 19.4%. This is a metro-level comparison from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, not a payment on a specific house.
Household income in Hickory
The calculator starts from Hickory's median household income of $64,576 (±$5,348), the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimate for Hickory city, North Carolina. The 5-year series is the one the Census publishes for every city. The 1-year figures below are newer but cover only larger areas. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates put median household income at $73,958 in North Carolina (up 1.5% from 2023).
Household utility bills in North Carolina
These are typical monthly bills for all household types in North Carolina, not an apartment quote. The rent calculator uses a smaller apartment estimate for electricity, gas, water, sewer, and trash, plus the internet row. The all-household core of those housing bills is $379 a month.
| Bill | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Electricity | $150 |
| Natural gas | $84 |
| Water | $23 |
| Sewer | $59 |
| Trash | $63 |
| Internet | $71 |
Nearby and similar cities
In brightplace's rent affordability rankings, the Hickory metro is 16 of 218: a typical 1-bedroom with utilities takes 26% of the median renter household's income in Hickory.
Questions about renting in Hickory
How much rent can I afford in Hickory, NC?
Keep rent, utilities, internet, and renters insurance within 30% of gross income. At Hickory's median household income of $64,576, that leaves about $1,388 a month for rent. A typical 1-bedroom in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro rents for about $737 as of August 2026, and the other costs add about $226, so it calls for about $38,520 a year.
What salary do you need to live in Hickory?
To keep a typical 1-bedroom within 30% of gross income in Hickory, you need about $38,520 a year: $737 in rent plus about $226 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. A 2-bedroom at the metro median of $919 needs about $48,400. The median renter household in Hickory earns $44,610 a year, per Census estimates for 2020–2024.
How much rent can I afford on $60,000 a year in Hickory?
On $60,000 a year, the 30% rule allows $1,500 a month for housing. After about $226 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance, that leaves about $1,274 for rent, $537 more than the $737 typical 1-bedroom in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro. A single filer in North Carolina takes home about $3,987 a month after estimated federal and North Carolina income tax and FICA. This is an estimate, not tax advice.
What income do landlords require in Hickory?
Many landlords in North Carolina screen for gross annual income of about 36 times the monthly rent, the same as three times the rent each month. For a $737 1-bedroom, that is about $26,532 a year. Requirements vary by building, so check the listing before paying an application fee.
What is the average rent in Hickory?
In the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro, which includes Hickory, NC, estimated median rent as of August 2026 is $952 overall, $737 for a 1-bedroom, $919 for a 2-bedroom. Overall rent is +3.5% from a year earlier. The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 median gross rent in Hickory, which counts utilities and leases signed years ago, is $1,063 a month.
How much are utilities for an apartment in Hickory?
A 1-bedroom apartment in Hickory, NC is estimated at about $141 a month for electricity, gas, and water, before internet. The city has no household utility median on file, so the estimate uses the state average instead. Actual bills depend on the building, what the lease includes, and how much you use.
Methodology and sources
Updated . Max rent is 30% of gross monthly income minus estimated utilities, internet, renters insurance, and any fees you enter. If you enter other bills, max rent also keeps housing plus those bills within 36% of gross income, a debt-to-income ratio lenders generally consider good. Federal tax uses 2026 brackets and the standard deduction. State tax uses 2025 single-filer brackets on gross income; married thresholds are doubled. FICA includes Social Security up to the 2026 wage base and Additional Medicare Tax. None of this is tax, legal, or housing advice. Read the financial disclosure.
- Apartment List Rent Estimates, August 2026 release
- IRS tax year 2026 brackets and standard deduction, including One Big Beautiful Bill adjustments
- Tax Foundation, 2025 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets
- Insurance Information Institute and NAIC, 2025 homeowners and renters insurance data
- Compiled from public utility cost surveys and bill-pay data, 2025
- brightplace apartment utility reference (national baselines by unit size)
- HUD cost-burden thresholds and common landlord income screens
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (ACSBR-025)
- Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, State of the Nation's Housing 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (tables B19013, B25003, B25031, B25064, B25070, and B25119)