Retiring in High Point, North Carolina
A furniture-market city that spans four counties at the southwest edge of the Triad, with a hospital in town, a city-run senior transit service, a new Center for Active Adults and a property-tax picture that depends on which county the parcel is in.
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Retiring in High Point: overview
High Point is in Guilford, North Carolina, within the Triad: Greensboro, Winston-Salem & High Point region.
High Point, North Carolina sits in the Piedmont Triad between Greensboro and Winston-Salem. The city's FY 2026-27 proposed budget calls it the ninth-largest municipality in North Carolina, settled before 1750 and incorporated in 1859, and lists a population of 119,170 and a land area of 58.96 square miles. The same document says the city lies in four counties: Guilford, Davidson, Forsyth and Randolph. For a retiree that is not a trivia point. The county that contains the parcel sets the county tax rate, runs the reappraisal and administers the relief programs, so two High Point addresses a few miles apart can have different county bills.
The city's identity comes from furniture. The budget document says the first North Carolina furniture exposition was held in High Point in 1905, that the city hosts the High Point Market twice a year, and that the Market is the world's largest home furnishings trade show, with all 50 states and more than 110 foreign countries represented. That shapes the city's calendar, its hotel and restaurant economy and its downtown investment agenda: the City's home page highlights a downtown hotel agreement with Tara Investments and a Market District roadway and utility project scheduled to begin November 1. Retirees who value quiet should expect Market weeks to change traffic and lodging availability, and should visit during one before buying.
This guide treats High Point as a place to compare with Greensboro and Winston-Salem, its two larger neighbors, and with Lexington to the south in Davidson County. High Point is not a resort or a 55+ destination. It is an established city with a hospital, a municipal electric utility, a transit system that includes door-to-door service for older residents and a recreation department that has just built a center for older adults.
Cost of living in High Point
North Carolina's current sales and use tax table lists Guilford County at 6.75 percent and Davidson, Forsyth and Randolph counties at 7 percent. Because High Point crosses those county lines, the combined rate on a purchase depends on which county the store is in. Guilford County has placed an additional 0.25 percent sales tax on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the county says it would equal 25 cents per $100 of eligible purchases and that, if approved, collection would begin in April 2027. By our arithmetic the Guilford rate would then match the 7 percent rate in the other three counties. Check the election result before assuming the current rate holds.
The city's proposed FY 2026-27 budget, a $534.2 million plan, lists the changes that touch household costs: no increase in electric or stormwater rates, an 8 percent water resources rate increase, and a $2 per month increase in the solid waste availability fee. High Point operates its own electric fund, so electric rates are a city decision. Greensboro and High Point both charge a $30 fee on motor vehicles, according to Guilford County's rate sheet, and Forsyth County's table lists the same $30 High Point vehicle fee.
The budget lists High Point's median household income at $62,483 and median age at 39.7. It lists the 2025 average annual unemployment rate at 4.6 percent for the city, against 4.3 percent for Guilford County and 3.8 percent for North Carolina. North Carolina does not tax Social Security benefits, and the NC retirement taxes guide explains how the state treats other retirement income.
Property taxes in High Point
Guilford County's 2026-27 rate sheet lists a countywide rate of $0.7895 per $100 and a City of High Point rate of $0.7349, for a combined $1.5244 on a High Point address in Guilford County. Forsyth County's 2026 rate table lists the same City of High Point rate of $0.7349 with its own county rate of $0.5540, for a combined $1.2889 on a High Point address in Forsyth County. The NCDOR county schedule shows Davidson County at $0.5400 and Randolph County at $0.5000 per $100 for 2025-26, and the Guilford sheet lists a Randolph address inside High Point with the same city rate. The county rate and the county's assessed values both matter, so comparing per-$100 rates across counties without comparing assessments is misleading.
The city's own proposed budget presents a different number. Its message recommends cutting the property tax rate by 8.75 cents, from 64.75 cents to 56.00 cents per $100, on a total valuation of $19,519,026,762 across the four counties, and says the revenue-neutral rate after the 2026 appraisals by the Guilford and Davidson tax offices is 48.69 cents. It reports that combined assessed valuation is 37.5 percent higher than the current year's estimate and shows a rate history of 64.75 cents for most of the past decade, with $0.6175 in 2022-23 and 2023-24. The budget is a proposal, while the county sheets are the billing references, and the figures differ. Confirm the adopted city rate with the Guilford or Forsyth tax office before building a budget on any of them.
Guilford's reappraisal page says new values took effect January 1, 2026, that owners were notified in February 2026, that the new values appear on the tax bill received in July 2026 and that the appeal deadline was May 15, 2026. The NCDOR schedule shows Guilford at $0.7305 from 2021-22 through 2025-26, with the last revaluation in 2022 and the next scheduled for 2026. The county's 2026-27 countywide rate of $0.7895 is higher than the $0.7305 of prior years, so an owner whose assessment did not rise can still see a higher bill. Forsyth appears in the NCDOR schedule at $0.5352 for 2025-26, with a 2025 revaluation and the next in 2029.
The state's three relief programs are administered by the county. Guilford County describes the elderly or disabled exclusion as the greater of $25,000 or up to 50 percent of the primary residence value for owners aged 65 or older or totally and permanently disabled whose 2025 gross income does not exceed $38,800, the circuit breaker deferment as limiting the tax bill to 4 to 5 percent of income for owners with gross income up to $58,200, and the disabled veteran exclusion as $45,000 of value. The application deadline is June 1. Guilford's tax department has offices in Greensboro and at 325 E. Russell Ave. in High Point. See the NC retirement taxes guide for the state-level rules.
Insurance and risk in High Point
High Point is in the Piedmont, well inland, so coastal windstorm insurance pools do not apply and flooding along creeks and lakes, winter ice and severe thunderstorms are the practical risks. Risk is parcel-specific. The city's FY 2026-27 budget lists flood prevention and stormwater management among its priorities for safe water resources, and the North Carolina State Climate Office describes the Piedmont as a precipitation battleground in winter storms, where the same system can bring snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Check a specific parcel's flood zone with the county GIS viewer and FEMA maps before contract. The North Carolina Department of Insurance advises asking any agent whether a policy covers rebuilding the home, whether flood and earthquake insurance are needed and what they cost, whether water damage from sewer, drain or sump-pump backup is covered, how deductibles work and what is excluded. Because a High Point parcel may be in any of four counties, also ask which fire district and protection class the insurer assigns to the address.
Healthcare access in High Point
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist High Point Medical Center is in the city. The health system says the hospital traces its roots to 1904, became part of the Wake Forest Baptist system on September 1, 2018, took the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist name on August 18, 2021 and serves a region of more than 600,000 people. Its page lists a 24-hour emergency department, cardiovascular services, the Hayworth Cancer Center, a Neuro ICU and a unit dedicated to knee, hip and shoulder replacement and spine surgery.
The hospital belongs to a large health system, and other systems operate in nearby Greensboro and Winston-Salem, so High Point residents can compare networks. A Medicare Advantage plan or supplement may favor one system, so check the plan's network for the specific hospital and specialists before enrolling; the healthcare access guide explains how to compare.
Climate in High Point
The National Weather Service's Raleigh office publishes 1981-2010 daily normals for the Greensboro airport station (GSO), which is the nearest published Triad station. For January 15 it lists a normal high of 48 degrees Fahrenheit and a normal low of 29.3, and for July 15 a normal high of 88.1 and a normal low of 69.3. The State Climate Office says most areas of North Carolina can expect anywhere from a few flakes to several inches of snow in a given winter, and that average winter temperatures have been increasing and annual snowfall decreasing across the state.
Lifestyle and recreation in High Point
High Point's public institutions are unusually strong for a city of its size. The budget document describes a public library with nearly 400,000 items that hosts the High Point Farmers Market, and a High Point Museum with an adjacent Historical Park whose four historic structures include the John Haley House (1786), the Hoggatt House (1801), a working blacksmith shop (1841) and the Little Red Schoolhouse (1931). The Museum is a Certified Autism Center. Parks and Recreation operates City Lake Park and Pool, Oak Hollow Marina and Park, tennis and golf facilities including Blair Park, and a Senior Citizen Services program within its Programs Division.
The most retirement-relevant item in the budget is the Center for Active Adults. The capital schedule lists it as a $12,500,000 project funded from the voter-approved 2019 general obligation bond, and the Parks and Recreation section says it is scheduled to open in the fall with a multi-purpose room that will carry resident and non-resident rental fees. The 2019 bond authorization was $50.0 million, including $21,500,000 for parks and recreation. Confirm programs, hours and membership terms with the Parks and Recreation department before relying on the center.
High Point Transit System offers fixed-route bus service, ADA complementary paratransit and door-to-door demand-responsive service for the elderly, with a proposed 2026-27 General Fund subsidy of $2,307,408. The budget describes High Point as centrally located on the Piedmont crescent with access to several interstate highways and to Piedmont Triad International Airport.
Housing in High Point
The city's budget gives context rather than a price index: assessed valuation across the four counties is projected at $19.519 billion for 2026-27, up 37.5 percent from the current-year estimate after the 2026 appraisals, which tells a buyer that assessed values rose substantially in aggregate even though the city proposed a lower rate. A purchase should be compared with the assessment, because assessed value is set by the county tax office, not by the sale price.
The Market District and downtown are the areas receiving public infrastructure investment, with a Market District roadway and utility project scheduled to start November 1 and a downtown hotel partnership in development. Ask a local agent for sold comparables in the specific neighborhood, and visit during a Market week to see how traffic and lodging change.
High Point compared with its neighbors
The decision most retirees face is between High Point, Greensboro and Winston-Salem. High Point's combined Guilford-side rate of $1.5244 per $100 is close to Greensboro's $1.5880 on the same county sheet, while a Forsyth-side address at $1.2889 compares with Winston-Salem's $1.143 on Forsyth County's own table, applied to different assessed values. The practical differences are the Market economy, a hospital that belongs to the Wake Forest Baptist system, and the new Center for Active Adults. Choose High Point if you want a Triad address with a city-run center for older adults, a medical center in town and a trade-show economy that supports downtown investment. Choose Greensboro or Winston-Salem if a larger university, arts or hospital presence matters more to you than those features.
Comparisons with High Point
Places near High Point
Guides relevant to High Point
Sources and review date
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources below; where a rule or figure can change, check the linked source before relying on it.
- 2025-2026 County Tax Rates — North Carolina Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Current Sales and Use Tax Rates — North Carolina Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 2026 - 2027 Tax Property Rates — Guilford County Tax Department (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Tax Rates — Forsyth County Tax Administration (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 2026 Tax Reappraisal Information and Learning Hub — Guilford County Tax Department (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Property Tax Relief Programs — Guilford County Tax Department (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 2026 Sales Tax Referendum — Guilford County (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Tax Department — Guilford County (accessed 2026-09-30)
- FY 2026-27 Proposed Budget — City of High Point (accessed 2026-09-30)
- City of High Point — City of High Point (accessed 2026-09-30)
- High Point Medical Center — Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Greensboro (GSO) Daily Normals — National Weather Service Raleigh (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Winter Storms - Products — North Carolina State Climate Office (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Questions to Ask Your Agent — North Carolina Department of Insurance (accessed 2026-09-30)