Best Places28581, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28581, 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.
28581 ranks 23,341st 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 28581
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.
28581's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28581 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 92% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 28581 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28581
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28581 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,824, 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 28581's effective rate of 0.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 28581
28581 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 28581.
Who works in 28581, and how
Work in 28581 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 28581
The coast is about 35 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 28581, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28581, month by month
28581 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 47° | 37° |
| April | 73° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 88° | 82° | 75° |
| October | 78° | 68° | 59° |
Flying in and out of 28581
The nearest airport, Coastal Carolina Regional, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 151 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28581
Schools across 28581 average an A, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Down East Middle And Smyrna ElementaryA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- East Carteret HighA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28581 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28581 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 28581 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28581
Is 28581 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28581 ranks 23,341st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, health care access, and good schools, and lowest on disaster risk and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28581 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $203,905. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $70,824 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 28581 safe?
28581 is safer than 31% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $433 per resident a year.
Compare 28581 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28581. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28581 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.
28581 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28581: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28581: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28581: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28581: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28581 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.