Best Places28401, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28401, 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.
28401 ranks 22,998th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28401
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.
28401's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28401 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of zip codes
- Short commute17.4 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 28401 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28401
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28401 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,490, 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 28401's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 28401
28401 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 28401.
Who works in 28401, and how
Work in 28401 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 28401
28401 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. The coast is about 13 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 28401 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28401, month by month
28401 sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 47° | 36° |
| April | 78° | 65° | 52° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 80° | 67° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 28401
The nearest airport, Wilmington International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 124 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28401
Schools across 28401 average an A−, better than 93% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dr Hubert Eaton Sr ElemA+ · 78% proficient
- Dr John Codington ElemA+ · 73% proficient
- Cape Fear Center For InquiryA · 71% proficient
Top middle schools
- Myrtle Grove MiddleA− · 53% proficient
- Holly Shelter MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Leland MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Brunswick County Early CollegeA+ · 98% proficient
- Pender Early College HighA+ · 93% proficient
- Wilmington Early College HighA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28401 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28401 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 28401 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28401 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 28401
Is 28401 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28401 ranks 22,998th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, good schools, and short commutes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28401 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $308,019. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $60,490 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 28401 safe?
28401 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,084 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28401?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 36. That works out to about 67 pleasant days a year, more than 19% of zip codes.
Is 28401 good for families?
Schools beat 93% of zip codes, crime safety beats 3%, and childcare runs $853 a month.
Compare 28401 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28401. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28401 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.
28401 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28401: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28401: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28401: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28401: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28401 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.