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HKYNC News & Views Nov 2, 2025 – Executive Summary
Hickory Hound News and Views Archive
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📤This Week:
Monday - (Substack) - The Foothills Corridor - Conclusion: A Blueprint for Rural Reinvention - The Foothills Corridor has been many things—an industrial engine, a forgotten backwater, a place people left behind, and a place people still refuse to leave. What’s emerged through this journey is not a return-to-glory fantasy or a feel-good economic report. It’s something harder, truer, and more necessary:
Tuesday - Dear Rachel - Episode 9: Building Amid Collapse - Episode 9 of Dear Rachel dives into the fading backbone of local economies: the people who still build amid decline.
Thursday - ⚙️Structural Schisms 1: The Vanishing Middle - Structural Schisms is a series about how Hickory’s systems function — not just the people who work within them, but the design, duplication, and disconnects that shape local results. Hickory’s middle-income stability has eroded over twenty-five years as the cost of ordinary living rose faster than household earnings.
Friday - (Substack) - The Foothills Corridor: Glossary of Key Terms - This is the conclusion of the book.
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📤Next Week:
(Tuesday): Hickory 101: Class Introduction by the Hickory Hound - is a weekly guide that helps readers learn how to navigate The Hickory Hound and understand the deeper story behind their town. Each lesson connects the dots between money, culture, work, and well-being—showing how Hickory’s systems really function. It’s not civics or news; it’s a clear map of the community’s ecosystem
(Thursday): ⚙️Structural Schisms 2: Evicted by Design - Hickory’s housing problems didn’t happen by accident. They came from choices — rules and policies that protect what’s already built instead of helping people build a life here.
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🧠Opening Reflection:
Hickory’s strength is not only seen in its streets or new projects—it’s also measured by how its households balance their monthly bills. During October we examined the four basic costs that shape everyday life here: housing, food, energy, and health. Each of them has grown from a routine expense into a constant pressure. The increase is not because residents manage money poorly; it’s because prices have risen faster than wages. According to United Way of North Carolina’s ALICE 2025 report, many working families now earn too much to qualify for assistance but too little to cover all necessities. In practical terms, “comfort” in Hickory today means being able to meet monthly bills with only a small margin left over—not having money or time to spare.
Housing set the tone for the entire series. Over the past four years, mortgage rates have roughly doubled from the “cheap money” period before the pandemic, while available homes have remained limited. According to NC Department of Commerce’s 2024 Catawba County Profile, the median sale price in Hickory had climbed to about $265,000 by 2024, and rents averaged approximately $1,180 a month. For many working households, the monthly mortgage payment for a modest starter home now exceeds the cost of rent by several hundred dollars. What used to be the natural next step for middle-income families—buying a first home—has become a financial climb that demands help from family savings or additional years of work. As a result, more residents are staying in rentals longer and commuting farther, waiting for the numbers to make sense again.
Food costs tell the same story that housing does: the math no longer works for many families. Grocery prices in the Southeast rose about eight percent in 2024, while average wages in Catawba County increased by roughly four percent. The result shows up at the checkout line. According to United Way of North Carolina’s ALICE 2025 report, about 39 percent of county households live below the survival threshold—the level where basic expenses exceed income. That number includes many people who work full time but still fall short each month. In practical terms, the food basket is now built around price and volume instead of preference. Families are planning meals to stretch dollars, not to meet nutrition goals.
Electric power used to be one of Hickory’s quiet advantages. That is no longer true. According to Duke Energy Carolinas filings and U.S. Energy Information Administration data, residential rates have increased about 40 percent over the past twenty-five years, but the total household bill has risen more than 120 percent. The difference comes from fuel surcharges, weather extremes, and higher year-round use. A typical home that once paid around $80 a month now pays closer to $180. For families with steady incomes, that rise is an inconvenience; for those living on the edge, it can decide whether groceries or medicine get paid first.
Health costs complete the picture of how survival has replaced comfort. The Catawba County Community Health Assessment (2023) reports that 31 percent of adults delay care because of cost, and 14 percent remain uninsured. The United Way of North Carolina’s ALICE 2025 study estimates that a family of four must budget about $735 a month for health care—roughly 13 percent of total living expenses. That figure does not include dental, vision, or most prescriptions, which continue to rise faster than wages. For many households, even those with employer coverage, a medical emergency or one uncovered procedure can erase savings for the year. The outcome shows up quietly across the county: postponed appointments, untreated conditions, and growing medical debt that follows families long after the illness has passed.
When all four costs—housing, food, energy, and health—are added together, the pattern is clear. The ALICE 2025 report shows that the median household income in Catawba County, about $61,900, now falls below the estimated survival budget of $67,860 for a family of four. Roughly one-fifth of households can still be considered financially comfortable. About two in five live paycheck to paycheck, covering bills with little or no margin. The remaining two-fifths are either falling behind each month or already below water. These numbers are not exaggeration or drama; they are the public record of private life in Hickory. The question facing the city is straightforward: will local systems find ways to ease these costs, or will they continue to expect residents to shoulder more than they can reasonably afford?
⭐ Feature Story ⭐
The Final Ledger of Comfort
Hickory’s household economy in 2025 can be described as a single ledger made up of four unshakable entries: housing, food, energy, and health. Each category was examined during October, but taken together they reveal a pattern larger than any one bill. They form the price of remaining part of the working middle (The Shrinking Center) in Catawba County.
1. The Four Ledgers as One System
Each of these expenses—housing, food, energy, and health—comes from a different part of daily life, but they all draw from the same paycheck. When one cost rises, something else must give. A higher rent or mortgage payment leaves less money for groceries, utilities, or medical care. The United Way of North Carolina’s ALICE 2025 Report shows that about 39 percent of Catawba County households earn less than what it takes to cover basic living costs. That survival budget for a family of four is $67,860 a year, while the median household income is $62,400, according to the same report. That means the typical household is already operating below the level needed for financial stability. For many residents, the goal is not to get ahead but simply to stay even.
2. Housing: The Fixed Cost That Moves the Least
Home costs set the tone for every other part of a household budget. When the monthly payment rises, there is no easy way to offset it. The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s 2024 Catawba County Profile lists the median home price in Hickory at about $265,000, and the average rent at roughly $1,180 a month. Mortgage rates that were around 3 percent a few years ago now average between 6 and 7 percent. At those rates, the monthly payment for a modest home can exceed rent by several hundred dollars.
Inventory has remained low because demand from retirees and remote workers continues to outpace what local wages can support. For many working families, homeownership has turned from a normal next step into a long wait. Housing has become the gatekeeper of stability: when the cost of owning or renting a home rises, other household expenses quickly follow.
City planning records show that Hickory is already exploring zoning updates for smaller lots, mixed-income developments, and accessory dwelling units. These are practical moves that can increase supply without major cost to taxpayers. The city cannot set wage levels, but it can make it easier for builders to produce entry-level homes. Each additional attainable unit helps a family remain in the community instead of moving farther out to find something affordable.
3. Food:Price, Distance, and Health
Rising food costs continue to strain household budgets across Catawba County. According to United Way of North Carolina’s ALICE 2025 Report, food expenses have increased by about 50 percent over the past decade, with most of that growth occurring after 2020. Prices have leveled somewhat in 2025, but wages have not kept pace. Families now make choices based on cost rather than nutrition, and those trade-offs carry health consequences. The Catawba County Community Health Assessment 2023 reports a continued rise in diabetes and hypertension, conditions closely tied to diet and limited access to fresh food.
Some parts of Hickory and the surrounding county remain several miles from a full-service grocery store. In those neighborhoods, convenience stores and fast-food outlets fill the gap left by distance and price. What begins as a financial compromise at the register becomes a public-health cost later.
Food security is no longer only a matter of charity. It affects workforce reliability, classroom performance, and medical spending. Local governments can help by supporting neighborhood markets, school-based meal programs, and transportation links that make fresh food reachable. Each small improvement in access and affordability reduces long-term health costs for the community as a whole.
4. Energy:The Price of Keeping the Lights On
Energy costs have become a defining part of household economics in Hickory. According to Duke Energy Carolinas filings and U.S. Energy Information Administration data, residential electricity rates have increased about 40 percent since 2000, while the average household bill has risen from around $80 to about $180 per month. This jump comes not only from higher base rates but also from additional riders and fees that recover fuel costs and system upgrades.
Across the western Piedmont, industrial expansion and new data centers promise jobs but also increase overall demand for electricity. The costs of meeting that demand often appear in residential bills long before the new infrastructure is complete. The Energy Information Administration reports that the average U.S. household now spends 10 to 12 percent of income on utilities, about three times the traditional affordability standard.
For households above the median income, this increase is a budget concern. For families at or below the ALICE 2025 survival threshold, it forces choices between utilities, groceries, and health care. Local programs that help weatherize homes or offer direct payment assistance remain the quickest form of relief. Greater transparency from power providers on fuel adjustments and service riders would also help families plan ahead. Every small reduction in monthly energy costs acts as a quiet raise for those who need it most.
5. Health:The Cost That Ends Every Delay
Health care is the expense that families can delay the least. The Catawba County Community Health Assessment 2023 shows that 31 percent of adults postpone medical care because of cost, and 14 percent remain uninsured. The United Way of North Carolina’s ALICE 2025 Report budgets about $735 a month for a family of four, or roughly 13 percent of total living expenses, just for health coverage and basic out-of-pocket costs. When dental care, prescriptions, and deductibles are added, many households spend more than 15 percent of their income on health alone.
Delaying care quickly becomes expensive. What begins as an untreated condition can lead to missed work, lost wages, and medical debt that follows a family for years. For a community that depends on a stable workforce, access to affordable primary care is not charity—it is infrastructure.
Local options already exist to reduce the burden. Preventive clinics, mobile screening units, and clear hospital pricing help residents seek care before small problems become emergencies. Each visit that prevents an emergency-room trip or a collection notice saves money for both families and public programs. Health systems that are easier to reach and understand are also stronger economic assets, keeping more people healthy, working, and insured.
6. The Ledger and Its Distribution
When the basic costs of housing, food, energy, and health are added together, they account for about 80 percent of what a median family earns each month. The remaining 20 percent must cover transportation, taxes, loan payments, child care, and any savings. That thin margin determines how secure or fragile a household feels.
Based on the Household Comfort Index drawn from the ALICE 2025 data, Hickory’s households fall into three groups. Around 20 percent are considered comfortable, meaning they have enough income to meet expenses and build some savings. About 40 percent are tenuous, meeting bills each month but with little cushion for emergencies. The remaining 40 percent are strained, regularly falling short of basic costs.
This distribution is more than a statistic; it shows up in local schools, clinics, and service agencies that see the same families cycling in and out of stability. The difference between comfort and crisis can be a single car repair, utility spike, or medical bill. For many residents, one unexpected expense now determines whether the budget balances or breaks.
7. Restoring Margin Inside the Paycheck
The path to improvement does not require sweeping policy or new slogans. It requires steady administration. Local governments already manage many of the tools that can widen or narrow the household margin.
On housing, cities can permit smaller homes, reduce permitting delays, and update zoning so that more entry-level construction is possible. Every unit built at a reasonable price adds stability to the local workforce.
On food, counties and cities can support local growers, neighborhood markets, and school-based meal programs. Small supply improvements reduce the cost and distance of access, especially in neighborhoods that have few full-service grocery options.
On energy, the most direct relief comes from weatherization programs and billing transparency. Households need to see exactly how rate riders and fees affect their totals. Investments in efficiency save residents money and reduce the strain on the grid.
On health, county health departments can direct more of their grant funding toward preventive care and urgent-care coverage. Treating small problems early keeps families out of debt and employers from losing workers to avoidable illness.
Each of these steps strengthens solvency from the bottom up rather than waiting for federal or state intervention. The process is incremental but measurable. Expanding the margin inside the paycheck is the simplest definition of progress.
8. The Measure of Continuity
Hickory’s current budget already shows an understanding of these pressures. Line items for energy assistance, workforce development, and zoning reform are not large, but they are deliberate. Each represents a practical step toward keeping local households solvent. These measures preserve the city’s social infrastructure—the people who teach, serve, build, and keep the community running.
A policy bias toward household solvency is not an act of charity; it is a requirement for continuity. Growth that ignores the financial limits of its residents is only surface progress—new buildings on top of budgets that do not balance. Stability comes from keeping families secure enough to stay.
The reporting over the past month makes one fact clear: the arithmetic of survival has become public business. The ledger of Hickory’s comfort is shared by everyone who lives and works here. Whether the next set of numbers shows improvement or decline will depend on how seriously the city applies what the data already tell us.
My Own Time Ω
I’ve lived in Hickory long enough to remember when steadiness was expected. Most families weren’t wealthy, but stability was built into everyday life—regular work, a mortgage that could be paid on one income, and a future that made sense. We lived in the wide middle between struggle and privilege. We weren’t rich, but we didn’t worry about the basics. What has changed, especially in the past few years, is how fragile that middle has become and how quickly stability can turn into uncertainty.
Writing this series has forced me to see that change as something lived, not just measured. Around town, people don’t talk about “getting ahead” anymore—they talk about making payments. The details differ, but the pattern is the same: a homeowner putting off repairs, a retiree watching the power bill rise, a young couple who never eats out and stretches every dollar. The math is tight for nearly everyone, and that pressure has changed how Hickory sees itself.
I grew up in a Hickory built on furniture and textiles, where people trusted the next shift and the value of their own work. That economy demanded endurance, but it rewarded it. When we lost much of that industrial base, the city had to adapt. The new economy—technology parks, data centers, and logistics hubs—looks impressive at groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings, but it hasn’t replaced what was lost. Too many of the new jobs are service positions that lack the steadiness of the old trades. The result is more activity, but less security.
When I use the term Shrinking Center, I’m not describing a theory. I’m describing the gap between how Hickory used to work and how it works now—the space between having enough and choosing which bill to pay first. You can see it in the small decisions people make every day: renting longer, driving less, delaying medical or dental care. Few families have much of a rainy-day fund anymore. This is what happens when wages don’t keep up with costs and people quietly slide down the economic ladder.
The Household Comfort Index explains what that slide looks like. About one-fifth of households in Hickory are Comfortable—steady income, manageable debt, a little room to save. They are the anchors of civic life, though even they feel rising costs. About two-fifths are Tenuous—working and paying the bills but with no margin for error. This is Hickory’s true middle class. A single illness, job change, or car repair can throw them off balance. The final two-fifths are Strained, struggling to keep up with rent and utilities, often relying on family or public assistance. The numbers shift from year to year, but the pattern holds.
I’ve lived much the same way throughout adulthood—below my means and not taking leaps of faith. I don’t have a family to provide for, but I still worry about the future, because after years of living here I’ve learned that you can’t count on much financially except that the bills come due every month.
I’m not making up the issues I write about. I know these people. I hear their stories and see their realities every day because I live a common man’s life. If you haven’t seen this, then you’re either insulated or oblivious. What separates most people in these tiers today isn’t effort—it’s timing, health, and luck. That’s the truth we rarely say out loud: the space between comfort and crisis is shaped as much by circumstance as by hard work.
Writing about these changes isn’t about nostalgia. Hickory is still a place built on skill and problem-solving. People here know how to adjust when misfortune happens, but adaptation without any cushion turns into exhaustion—first mental, then physical—and that’s what many families are living through now. The same resilience that once made Hickory’s industry famous is now wasted on personal survival. These people, and their fortitude, deserve the same attention and respect as any new public investment.
Much of what I write here is therapy. It is an exercise in building a machine powered by faith and hope. God helped me learn economics and finance, and He has provided me with the skills and tools to communicate this to the public. A month ago, this site had more than fifty thousand page views. That isn’t much on a national scale, but it’s a lot for what many still paint as “a local blog.” It’s the most attention this website has ever received. When I go through my exercises with the AI programs to create this material, it shows me that this is not a blog. This is a Civic Intelligence mission, and what comes out of it is Intelligence.
Hickory can’t control global prices or national interest rates, but it can decide how local systems treat the people who live here. When our community supports smaller homes, improves food access, or makes utility billing clearer, it isn’t offering charity—it’s protecting its foundation. The middle may be struggling, but it’s still here. It remains the yardstick of how the community is performing.
In the years I have spent writing on this platform, one lesson shines through: success doesn’t just happen. You have to work at it. You have to make it happen. Success for a community relies on wages that keep up with costs, on public policy that treats households as integral to the well-being of the community, and on leadership that sees that well-being as part of the community’s infrastructure. The middle may be struggling now, but it remains the axis on which Hickory’s future depends.
