HomeNorth CarolinaLee CountySanford
Sanford, North Carolina: commercial real estate data.
Sanford is a Census city of 31,478 people across 33.18 square miles of land, in Lee County. Median household income is $57,586, 53.3 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 54 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $39.0 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Sanford
What Sanford is
- Census place typecity
- Land area33.18 sq mi
- Water area0.28 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land949
- County holding the largest share of its areaLee County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Sanford
How many people live in Sanford
- Population31,478
- Median age34.7
- Population under 188,785
- Share under 1827.9 percent
- Population 65 and over4,768
- Share 65 and over15.1 percent
- Households11,359
- Family households7,868
- Share of households that are families69.3 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Sanford
Income and work in Sanford
- Median household income$57,586
- Per capita income$28,130
- Civilian labor force14,413
- Employed13,782
- Unemployed631 plus or minus 256
- Unemployment rate4.4 percent plus or minus 1.8
- Adults 25 and over20,003
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher79.2 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher21.6 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree7.0 percent plus or minus 1.4
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Sanford
Housing in Sanford
- Housing units12,531
- Occupied units11,359
- Vacant units1,172 plus or minus 309
- Vacancy rate9.4 percent plus or minus 2.5
- Owner occupied6,052
- Renter occupied5,307
- Ownership rate53.3 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$245,400
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,052
- Annual rent as a share of median income21.9 percent
- Single family units8,122
- Share single family64.8 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more3,785
- Share in buildings of two or more30.2 percent
- Mobile homes624 plus or minus 198
- Median year structure built1985
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Sanford
How Sanford gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute12,543
- Commuting under 15 minutes5,114
- Share commuting under 15 minutes40.8 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more4,627
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more36.9 percent
- Drove alone77.4 percent
- Carpooled12.5 percent plus or minus 2.9
- Public transport0.0 percent
- Walked1.0 percent plus or minus 0.7
- Worked from home8.1 percent plus or minus 1.8
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Sanford
SBA loans in Sanford (7(a))
- Approvals54
- Gross approval$38,963,600
- Average approval$721,548
- Median approval$401,850
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,637,500
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported512
- Jobs per approval9.5
- Loans with a final outcome8
- Paid in full8
- Charged off0
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more22.2 percent
- Share to franchises14.8 percent
- Distinct lenders28
- Distinct industries by NAICS38
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Sanford, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 8 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Sanford
SBA loans in Sanford (504)
- Approvals8
- Gross approval$5,804,000
- Average approval$725,500
- Median approval$534,000
- Largest approval$2,112,000
- Jobs supported77
- Loans with a final outcome2
- Charged off0
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs2
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Sanford, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 2 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Sanford
Flood risk in Sanford
- NFIP communityCity of Sanford
- NFIP community number370143
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date02/02/07
The City of Sanford participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 370143 and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies to it.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Lee County, not Sanford
Lee County context, not Sanford figures
- Establishments in Lee County1,460
- Covered employment, Lee County27,674
- Average annual pay, Lee County$58,075
- Housing units permitted, Lee County602
Every figure in this section is published for Lee County as a whole and is not a measurement of Sanford.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Sanford questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Sanford, North Carolina?
31,478, in 11,359 households. Sanford city covers 33.18 square miles of land, which is 949 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Sanford in?
Lee County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Sanford?
$57,586. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $245,400. Median gross rent is $1,052 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Sanford businesses?
54 7(a) approvals totaling $39.0 m since FY2020, across 28 lenders, median approval $401,850, plus 8 504 approvals worth $5.8 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Sanford, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Sanford borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Sanford. Only 8 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Sanford in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Sanford appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Sanford, city of, community 370143, with no Community Rating System class, so no CRS discount applies. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Sanford figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Lee County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Sanford.
Is zoning published for Sanford?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.