Best Places28448, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28448, 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.
28448 ranks 32,268th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28448
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.
28448's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28448 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$536 a month, better than 92% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 28448 ranks low
- Short commute50.4 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28448
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28448 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,394, 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 28448's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28448
28448 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28448.
Who works in 28448, and how
Work in 28448 centers on construction and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 28448
The coast is about 54 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 28448, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28448, month by month
28448 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 77° | 65° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 28448
The nearest airport, Wilmington International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28448
Schools across 28448 average a D+, better than 15% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Malpass Corner ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
- Elizabethtown PrimaryD+ · 23% proficient
- East Arcadia ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Pender MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Elizabethtown MiddleD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Pender Early College HighA+ · 93% proficient
- East Bladen HighC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28448 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28448 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 28448 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28448
Is 28448 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28448 ranks 32,268th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, quiet, and affordable childcare, and lowest on long commutes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28448 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $140,498. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $55,394 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 28448 safe?
28448 is safer than 8% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $722 per resident a year.
Compare 28448 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28448. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28448 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.
28448 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28448: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28448: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28448: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28448: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28448 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.