Best Places27978, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27978, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
27978 ranks 31,596th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 27978
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.
27978's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27978 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 27978 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27978
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27978 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $53,375, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 27978's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 27978
27978 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 27978.
Who works in 27978, and how
Work in 27978 centers on hospitality & food and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 27978
The coast is about 30 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 27978, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 27978, month by month
27978 sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 44° | 37° |
| April | 69° | 60° | 53° |
| July | 86° | 80° | 74° |
| October | 72° | 66° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 27978
The nearest airport, Coastal Carolina Regional, is about 85 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 152 miles away.
The best schools in and around 27978
Schools across 27978 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Manteo Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manteo Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Manteo High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27978 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27978 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 27978 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 27978
Is 27978 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27978 ranks 31,596th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, state finances, and clean air, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27978 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $261,400. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $53,375 median income, cost of living beats 11% of zip codes.
Is 27978 safe?
27978 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,096 per resident a year.
Compare 27978 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27978. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27978 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.
27978 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27978: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27978: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27978: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27978: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27978 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.