Best PlacesCarolina Heights, Wilmington, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Carolina Heights, Wilmington, 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.
Carolina Heights, Wilmington ranks 4,457th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Carolina Heights, Wilmington
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.
Carolina Heights, Wilmington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Carolina Heights, Wilmington ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where Carolina Heights, Wilmington ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Carolina Heights, Wilmington
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Carolina Heights, Wilmington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $58,668, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Carolina Heights, Wilmington's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Carolina Heights, Wilmington
Carolina Heights, Wilmington 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 Carolina Heights, Wilmington.
Who works in Carolina Heights, Wilmington, and how
Work in Carolina Heights, Wilmington centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Carolina Heights, Wilmington
Carolina Heights, Wilmington has more parkland per resident than 93% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 14 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Carolina Heights, Wilmington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Carolina Heights, Wilmington, month by month
Carolina Heights, Wilmington 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 Carolina Heights, Wilmington
The nearest airport, Wilmington International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 123 miles away.
The best schools in and around Carolina Heights, Wilmington
Schools across Carolina Heights, Wilmington average an A−, better than 96% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Dr Hubert Eaton Sr ElemA+ · 78% proficient
- The International School At GregoryB− · 41% proficient
- Classical Charter Schools Of WilmingtonC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Holly Shelter MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Wilmington Early College HighA+ · 93% proficient
- New Hanover HighA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Carolina Heights, Wilmington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Carolina Heights, Wilmington 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 Carolina Heights, Wilmington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Carolina Heights, Wilmington
Is Carolina Heights, Wilmington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Carolina Heights, Wilmington ranks 4,457th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, good schools, and state finances, 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 Carolina Heights, Wilmington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $264,764. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $58,668 median income, cost of living beats 32% of neighborhoods.
Is Carolina Heights, Wilmington safe?
Carolina Heights, Wilmington is safer than 8% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $989 per resident a year.
Compare Carolina Heights, Wilmington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Carolina Heights, Wilmington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Carolina Heights, Wilmington 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.
Carolina Heights, Wilmington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Carolina Heights, Wilmington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Carolina Heights, Wilmington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Carolina Heights, Wilmington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Carolina Heights, Wilmington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Carolina Heights, Wilmington 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.