Best PlacesPamlico County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pamlico 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.
Pamlico County ranks 2,574th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Pamlico 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.
Pamlico County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pamlico County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 96% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 88% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 87% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of counties
Where Pamlico County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 8% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pamlico County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pamlico County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,045, 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 Pamlico County's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Pamlico County
Pamlico 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 Pamlico County.
Who works in Pamlico County, and how
Work in Pamlico 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 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Pamlico County
Pamlico County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 72% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Pamlico County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pamlico County growing, and who is moving in?
Pamlico County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Craven County, NC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pamlico County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pamlico County, month by month
Pamlico County sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 45° | 33° |
| April | 77° | 63° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 78° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Pamlico County
The nearest airport, Coastal Carolina Regional, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 125 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pamlico County
Schools across Pamlico County average a B−, better than 68% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Pamlico County PrimaryB− · 40% proficient
- Fred A Anderson ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pamlico County MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Pamlico County HighB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pamlico County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pamlico 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 Pamlico County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Pamlico County
Is Pamlico County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pamlico County ranks 2,574th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, a strong job market, and state finances, and lowest on disaster risk and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pamlico County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $214,062. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $63,045 median income, cost of living beats 20% of counties.
Is Pamlico County safe?
Pamlico County is safer than 32% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $442 per resident a year.
Compare Pamlico County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pamlico County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pamlico 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.
Pamlico County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pamlico County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pamlico County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pamlico County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pamlico County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pamlico 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.