Best PlacesColumbus County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Columbus County, 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.
Columbus County ranks 2,826th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Disaster risk pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state finances.
The best neighborhoods in Columbus County
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.
Columbus County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Columbus County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 87% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 78% of counties
- QuietBetter than 73% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 72% of counties
- Cheap childcare$627 a month, better than 70% of counties
Where Columbus County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Household income$50,118 median, better than only 8% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 9% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Columbus County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Columbus County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,118, 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 Columbus County's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Columbus County
Columbus County 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 Columbus County.
Who works in Columbus County, and how
Work in Columbus County 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 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Columbus County
Columbus County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 47 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Columbus County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Columbus County growing, and who is moving in?
Columbus County has lost about 12% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wilmington, NC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Columbus County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Columbus County, month by month
Columbus County sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 47° | 38° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 77° | 66° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Columbus County
The nearest airport, Myrtle Beach International, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around Columbus County
Schools across Columbus County average a C+, better than 55% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Town Creek ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- WaccamawB+ · 52% proficient
- Classical Charter Schools Of WhitevilleB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Myrtle Beach MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Nakina MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- South Brunswick MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Brunswick County Early CollegeA+ · 98% proficient
- Pender Early College HighA+ · 93% proficient
- North Myrtle Beach HighA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Columbus County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Columbus County 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 Columbus County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Columbus County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Columbus County
Is Columbus County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Columbus County ranks 2,826th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and quiet, and lowest on disaster risk and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Columbus County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,197. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $50,118 median income, cost of living beats 9% of counties.
Is Columbus County safe?
Columbus County is safer than 21% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $527 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Columbus County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 57 with lows near 38. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 39% of counties.
Is Columbus County good for families?
Schools beat 55% of counties, crime safety beats 21%, and childcare runs $627 a month.
Compare Columbus County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Columbus County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Columbus County 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.
Columbus County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Columbus County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Columbus County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Columbus County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Columbus County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Columbus County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.