Best PlacesNew Hanover County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in New Hanover County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
New Hanover County ranks 536th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $85,834, everyday costs sit below the national average, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are disaster risk, an overheated housing market, and the weather.
The best neighborhoods in New Hanover 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.
The best areas in New Hanover County
The parts of New Hanover County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Wilmington
Crime runs lower, local pay stretches further, and health care is easier to reach.
Murraysville & Kings Grant
More households have young kids, though biking is worse.
Wrightsville Beach
More adults hold degrees and it is quieter.
Castle Hayne
Homes cost less, though incomes run lower.
New Hanover County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 4% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
New Hanover County's strengths and weaknesses
New Hanover County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Good schools is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. An educated workforce and a strong job market follow.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and the weather also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where New Hanover County ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 93% of counties
- TransitBetter than 92% of counties
- BikingBetter than 91% of counties
Where New Hanover County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 18% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in New Hanover County
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median New Hanover County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,834, 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 New Hanover County's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 New Hanover County
New Hanover County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 New Hanover County.
Who works in New Hanover County, and how
Work in New Hanover County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in New Hanover County
New Hanover County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 67% of counties. The coast is about 10 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of New Hanover County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is New Hanover County growing, and who is moving in?
New Hanover County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Wilmington, NC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving New Hanover County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in New Hanover County, month by month
New Hanover County sees roughly 68 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 New Hanover County
The nearest airport, Wilmington International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 126 miles away.
The best schools in and around New Hanover County
Schools across New Hanover County average an A, better than 99% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Wrightsville Beach ElemA+ · 88% proficient
- Ogden ElementaryA+ · 81% proficient
- Masonboro ElementaryA+ · 79% proficient
Top middle schools
- M C S Noble MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Charles P Murray MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Roland-grise MiddleA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Brunswick County Early CollegeA+ · 98% proficient
- Isaac M Bear Early College High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Wilmington Early College HighA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every New Hanover County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
New Hanover 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 New Hanover County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who New Hanover County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in New Hanover County
Is New Hanover County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, New Hanover County ranks 536th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, an educated workforce, and a strong job market, 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 New Hanover County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $414,945. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $85,834 median income, cost of living beats 86% of counties.
Is New Hanover County safe?
Yes, New Hanover County is safer than 58% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $423 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in New Hanover County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 36. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in New Hanover County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Wilmington, Murraysville & Kings Grant, and Wrightsville Beach. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is New Hanover County good for families?
Schools beat 99% of counties, crime safety beats 58%, and childcare runs $853 a month.
Is New Hanover County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 79% of counties. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare New Hanover County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to New Hanover County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in New Hanover 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.
New Hanover County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for New Hanover County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in New Hanover County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of New Hanover County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in New Hanover County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
New Hanover 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.