Roper is a town in Washington County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 485 at the 2020 Census. It was known as Lee's Mill (named for Thomas Lee) until 1890, when the John L. Roper Lumber Company was established in the town and its name changed to Roper.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km), all land.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	819		—
1920	1,043		27.4%
1930	660		−36.7%
1940	716		8.5%
1950	793		10.8%
1960	771		−2.8%
1970	649		−15.8%
1980	795		22.5%
1990	669		−15.8%
2000	613		−8.4%
2010	611		−0.3%
2020	485		−20.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2020, there were 485 people, 238 households, residing in the town. The population density was 566.59 people per square mile (218.64 people per km). There were 268 housing units at an average density of 309.0 per square mile (119.3/km). The racial makeup of the town was 14.78% White, 78.95% African American, 4.25% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.82% of the population.

There were 238 households, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples living together, 28.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were not families. About 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the town, the population was distributed as 35.4% under the age of 19, 3.1% from 20 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 75.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $19,536, and the median income for a family was $29,457. About 52.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 72.1% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

• Modlin, Betsy Burgess Lucas et al. "My Home is Washington County, North Carolina" ISBN 0-9663776-1-3