Best Places28421, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28421, 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.
28421 ranks 24,097th 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 28421
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.
28421's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28421 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of zip codes
- School gradeB, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 28421 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Short commute33.4 minutes each way, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28421
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28421 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,617, 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 28421's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28421
28421 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28421.
Who works in 28421, and how
Work in 28421 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 97%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 28421
The coast is about 45 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 28421, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28421, month by month
28421 sees roughly 70 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 28421
The nearest airport, Wilmington International, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28421
Schools across 28421 average a B, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Malpass Corner ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Pender MiddleB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Pender Early College HighA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28421 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28421 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 28421 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28421
Is 28421 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28421 ranks 24,097th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, tree cover, and state finances, and lowest on disaster risk and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28421 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $117,773. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $62,617 median income, cost of living beats 25% of zip codes.
Is 28421 safe?
28421 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $327 per resident a year.
Compare 28421 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28421. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28421 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.
28421 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28421: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28421: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28421: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28421: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28421 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.