Best PlacesSilver Lake, Wilmington, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Silver Lake, Wilmington, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Silver Lake, Wilmington ranks 2,360th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Silver Lake, 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.
Silver Lake, Wilmington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Silver Lake, Wilmington ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Silver Lake, Wilmington ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Silver Lake, Wilmington
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Silver Lake, Wilmington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,838, 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 Silver Lake, Wilmington's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 Silver Lake, Wilmington
Silver Lake, Wilmington'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 Silver Lake, Wilmington.
Who works in Silver Lake, Wilmington, and how
Work in Silver Lake, Wilmington centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Silver Lake, Wilmington
The coast is about 9 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Silver Lake, Wilmington, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Silver Lake, Wilmington, month by month
Silver Lake, 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 Silver Lake, Wilmington
The nearest airport, Wilmington International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around Silver Lake, Wilmington
Schools across Silver Lake, Wilmington average an A, better than 98% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Masonboro ElementaryA+ · 79% proficient
- Dr John Codington ElemA+ · 73% proficient
- Mary C Williams ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Charles P Murray MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Roland-grise MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Myrtle Grove MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- 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 Silver Lake, Wilmington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Silver Lake, 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 Silver Lake, Wilmington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Silver Lake, Wilmington
Is Silver Lake, Wilmington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Silver Lake, Wilmington ranks 2,360th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and state finances, and lowest on disaster risk and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Silver Lake, Wilmington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $316,223. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $69,838 median income, cost of living beats 58% of neighborhoods.
Is Silver Lake, Wilmington safe?
Yes, Silver Lake, Wilmington is safer than 91% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $254 per resident a year.
Compare Silver Lake, Wilmington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Silver Lake, Wilmington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Silver Lake, 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.
Silver Lake, Wilmington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Silver Lake, Wilmington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Silver Lake, Wilmington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Silver Lake, Wilmington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Silver Lake, Wilmington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Silver Lake, 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.