City Score: Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC

Metro area. The Joy Project City Score for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC: the condition of its cities from public data and how the church is moving across them, with every source.

The score

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC scores 30 out of 100 on the Joy Project City Score, status Liberty since Oct 2026. Condition 35 (the city from public data, 60%) and Movement 22 (how the church is moving, 40%). How the score is built.

The condition of Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC

  • What Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC is up against: 75 out of 100 — Better than 13% of cbsas
  • Where grace is growing: 45 out of 100 — Better than 83% of cbsas
  • Marriage & family: 43 out of 100 — Better than 40% of cbsas, down 16 points
  • Christian liberty: 25 out of 100 — Better than 15% of cbsas, up 3 points

What takes Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC to Revival

  • City Pulse: City Pulse 22 → 40
  • Unity: Unity 44 → 45
  • Gathering: Gathering 31 → 45
  • Discipleship: Discipleship 24 → 45

What affected it

  • This quarter: Children with married parents down 24 percentile points (Marriage & family)
  • This quarter: Cohabiting households down 11 percentile points (Marriage & family)
  • This quarter: Divorces down 10 percentile points (Marriage & family)

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC over time

  • — Entered Liberty

Sources

  1. Violent crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  2. Property crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  3. Sexually transmitted infections: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  4. Drug overdose deaths: CDC NCHS, provisional county drug overdose deaths (VSRR) · 2025 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (2 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  5. Adult entertainment outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  6. Gambling outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  7. Cannabis outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  8. Liquor outlets and bars: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  9. Predatory lenders: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  10. Abortion facilities (mapped): OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  11. Church adherents: 2020 U.S. Religion Census · 2020 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  12. Congregations: 2020 U.S. Religion Census · 2020 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  13. Charitable giving: IRS Statistics of Income, county data · 2023 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (4 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  14. Given to local needs in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · 2026-09 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 29, 2026 · verified in Joy
  15. Needs met in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · 2026-09 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 29, 2026 · verified in Joy
  16. Volunteers mobilized in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · 2026-09 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 29, 2026 · verified in Joy
  17. New believers in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · 2026-09 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 29, 2026 · verified in Joy
  18. Searches for a church in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · 2026-09 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 29, 2026 · verified in Joy
  19. Foster and adoptive families in the churches: Church workspace entries (church-attested) · 2026-10 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 29, 2026 · verified in Joy
  20. Children with married parents: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (4 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  21. Adults 25-44 married: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (4 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  22. Cohabiting households: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (4 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  23. Divorces: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  24. Marriages: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  25. Births to unmarried mothers: CDC WONDER · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  26. Religious Liberty in the States score: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  27. Safeguards fully in law: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  28. State Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  29. Anti-Christian hate crimes: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  30. School choice: The Liberty register (config/conditions/liberty_laws.yml) · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  31. Protections for the unborn: The Liberty register (config/conditions/liberty_laws.yml) · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 29, 2026
  32. Homeschool freedom: The Liberty register (config/conditions/liberty_laws.yml) · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 29, 2026

Its cities by status

  • 22 cities in Liberty

Highest City Scores in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC

  1. Catawba County, NC — 40, Liberty
  2. Cajah's Mountain, NC — 37, Liberty
  3. Collettsville, NC — 37, Liberty
  4. Hiddenite, NC — 37, Liberty
  5. Taylorsville, NC — 36, Liberty
  6. Connelly Springs, NC — 35, Liberty
  7. Morganton, NC — 34, Liberty
  8. Sawmills, NC — 34, Liberty
  9. Hildebran, NC — 33, Liberty
  10. Maiden, NC — 33, Liberty
  11. Conover, NC — 32, Liberty
  12. Lenoir, NC — 32, Liberty
  13. Rhodhiss, NC — 32, Liberty
  14. Valdese, NC — 32, Liberty
  15. Stony Point, NC — 31, Liberty
  16. Granite Falls, NC — 30, Liberty
  17. Newton, NC — 30, Liberty
  18. Hickory, NC — 29, Liberty
  19. Hudson, NC — 29, Liberty
  20. Lake Norman of Catawba, NC — 29, Liberty
  21. Catawba, NC — 27, Liberty
  22. Claremont, NC — 25, Liberty

Quote it

Cite it as: Joy Project City Score v1.0, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, 2026-Q4, joyproject.com/metros/hickory-lenoir-morganton-nc. Methodology.

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