Best Places27896, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27896, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
27896 ranks 6,416th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 27896
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
27896's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27896 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 27896 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 33% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27896
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27896 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,952, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 27896's effective rate of 0.85%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 27896
27896 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 27896.
Who works in 27896, and how
Work in 27896 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 27896
27896 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 27896 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 27896, month by month
27896 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 42° | 31° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 93° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 27896
The nearest airport, Pitt-Greenville, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 48 miles away.
The best schools in and around 27896
Schools across 27896 average an A−, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- New Hope ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Coopers ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
- Vinson-bynum ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Springfield MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Elm City MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Forest Hills MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Wilson Early College AcademyA+ · 93% proficient
- Nrm Early College High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27896 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27896 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 27896 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 27896 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of zip codes and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 27896
Is 27896 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27896 ranks 6,416th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and civic engagement, and lowest on the weather and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27896 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $244,702. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $85,952 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 27896 safe?
Yes, 27896 is safer than 71% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $284 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 27896?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 31. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of zip codes.
Is 27896 good for families?
Schools beat 90% of zip codes, crime safety beats 71%, and childcare runs $744 a month.
Compare 27896 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27896. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27896 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
27896 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27896: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27896: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27896: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27896: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27896 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.