Best Places28443, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28443, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
28443 ranks 4,699th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28443
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.
28443's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28443 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 28443 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Short commute30.0 minutes each way, better than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28443
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28443 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,128, 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 28443's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28443
28443's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28443.
Who works in 28443, and how
Work in 28443 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 28443
The coast is about 16 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 28443, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28443, month by month
28443 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 28443
The nearest airport, Wilmington International, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 120 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28443
Schools across 28443 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Topsail Annandale Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- North Topsail ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Surf City ElementaryA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- Topsail MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Surf City MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Dixon MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Pender Early College HighA+ · 93% proficient
- Topsail HighA · 71% proficient
- Dixon HighA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28443 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28443 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 28443 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28443 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 28443
Is 28443 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28443 ranks 4,699th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, a strong job market, and civic engagement, 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 28443 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $410,469. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $103,128 median income, cost of living beats 89% of zip codes.
Is 28443 safe?
Yes, 28443 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28443?
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 20% of zip codes.
Is 28443 good for families?
Schools beat 98% of zip codes, crime safety beats 86%, and childcare runs $832 a month.
Compare 28443 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28443. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28443 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.
28443 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28443: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28443: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28443: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28443: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28443 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.