Best PlacesWilson, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Wilson, 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.
Wilson ranks 1,624th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Wilson
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.
Wilson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Wilson ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 95% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of cities
- Cheap childcare$745 a month, better than 86% of cities
- School gradeB+, better than 82% of cities
- Short commute21.7 minutes each way, better than 79% of cities
Where Wilson ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of cities
- Household income$62,323 median, better than only 11% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Wilson
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wilson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,323, 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 Wilson's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 Wilson
Wilson'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 Wilson.
Who works in Wilson, and how
Work in Wilson centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Wilson
Wilson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of cities and more parkland per resident than 84% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Wilson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Wilson, month by month
Wilson sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 42° | 31° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 93° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Wilson
The nearest airport, Pitt-Greenville, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around Wilson
Schools across Wilson average a B+, better than 82% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Rock Ridge ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- New Hope ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Lucama ElementaryA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Springfield MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Elm City MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Forest Hills MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Wilson Early College AcademyA+ · 93% proficient
- Nrm Early College High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- James Hunt HighA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wilson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wilson 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 Wilson against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Wilson suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Wilson
Is Wilson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wilson ranks 1,624th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and affordable childcare, and lowest on health outcomes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Wilson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,518. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $62,323 median income, cost of living beats 21% of cities.
Is Wilson safe?
Wilson is safer than 28% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $463 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Wilson?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 31. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of cities.
Is Wilson good for families?
Schools beat 82% of cities, crime safety beats 28%, and childcare runs $745 a month.
Compare Wilson with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wilson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wilson 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.
Wilson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wilson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wilson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wilson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wilson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wilson 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.