Best PlacesSampson County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sampson County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Sampson County ranks 2,397th 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 Sampson 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 Sampson County
The parts of Sampson 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.
Dunn
Schools score higher, it is quieter, and crime runs lower.
Roseboro
More homes sit empty and fewer households have young kids.
Newton Grove
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Clinton
Streets are more walkable, though tree cover is thinner.
Scores across Sampson County run from about the 4th to the 62nd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Sampson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sampson County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 87% of counties
- School gradeB, better than 81% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of counties
- QuietBetter than 75% of counties
- Cheap childcare$596 a month, better than 73% of counties
Where Sampson County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 15% of counties
- Household income$55,030 median, better than only 16% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sampson County
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sampson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,030, 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 Sampson County's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sampson County
Sampson County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sampson County.
Who works in Sampson County, and how
Work in Sampson County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Sampson County
Sampson County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Sampson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sampson County growing, and who is moving in?
Sampson County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Harnett County, NC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sampson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sampson County, month by month
Sampson County sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 45° | 36° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 53° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 77° | 65° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Sampson County
The nearest airport, Fayetteville Regional/Grannis Field, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sampson County
Schools across Sampson County average a B, better than 81% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Plain View ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Stedman ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Meadow SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Midway MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Sampson MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Hobbton MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Sampson Early College HighA+ · 95% proficient
- Cumberland International Early CollegeA+ · 83% proficient
- Midway HighB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sampson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sampson 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 Sampson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Sampson County suits
Common questions about living in Sampson County
Is Sampson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sampson County ranks 2,397th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and cheap car insurance, 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 Sampson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,020. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $55,030 median income, cost of living beats 17% of counties.
Is Sampson County safe?
Sampson County is safer than 32% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $436 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Sampson County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 36. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Sampson County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Dunn, Roseboro, and Newton Grove. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Sampson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sampson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sampson 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.
Sampson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sampson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sampson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sampson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sampson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sampson 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.