Best Places28551, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28551, 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.
28551 ranks 23,752nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28551
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.
28551's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28551 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of zip codes
- School gradeB, better than 73% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$705 a month, better than 72% of zip codes
Where 28551 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Household income$57,161 median, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28551
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28551 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,161, 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 28551's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28551
28551'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 28551.
Who works in 28551, and how
Work in 28551 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 28551
28551 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28551 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28551, month by month
28551 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 28551
The nearest airport, Pitt-Greenville, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 68 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28551
Schools across 28551 average a B, better than 73% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Banks ElementaryB · 44% proficient
- La Grange ElementaryB− · 41% proficient
- Spring Creek ElementaryC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- E B Frink MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Spring Creek MiddleB− · 43% proficient
- Eastern Wayne MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Wayne Early / Middle College HighA+ · 88% proficient
- Lenoir County Early College HighA · 70% proficient
- Greene Early College HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28551 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28551 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 28551 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28551
Is 28551 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28551 ranks 23,752nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, state finances, and cheap car insurance, 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 28551 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $168,061. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $57,161 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 28551 safe?
28551 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $517 per resident a year.
Compare 28551 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28551. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28551 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.
28551 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28551: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28551: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28551: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28551: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28551 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.