North Carolina
The 25 Most Expensive ZIP Codes In North Carolina, Per Zillow Data
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, is home to the most expensive ZIP code in the state. Home values … [+]
North Carolina is home to so many cities, many of them more or less college towns originally, that have exploded. Charlotte is the largest, but many others like Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Durham, Greensboro have all seen surges in population. Not surprisingly, this population growth has been accompanied by economic growth, and consequent growth in wealth.
As part of an ongoing series, we’ve been analyzing ever state in the country in terms of what the most expensive ZIP codes are. Here, we’re investigating the most expensive ones in North Carolina. As a coastal state, North Carolina possesses a string of beach towns that command high home prices. But there are less well-known areas of the state that are surprisingly expensive.
Read on to find out the most expensive ZIP codes in North Carolina in 2024, based on the latest data from Zillow’s home value index.
The Most Expensive ZIP Codes in North Carolina
Sourcing data from Zillow’s home value index, as well as the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, we analyzed thousands of ZIP codes across the U.S. as part of a general survey. The Zillow home value index tracks (as of September 2024) the home values of 720 ZIP codes in North Carolina. As part of our analysis, we took into consideration the latest monthly home values Zillow has — September 2024 — as well as the average of 12 months of median home values from October 2023 to September 2024. Home values have grown immensely across America since the pandemic-induced buying frenzy, but home value appreciation in North Carolina has been particularly robust. In fact, in the third most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina witnessed home values double over the last five years.
Below are the 25 most expensive ZIP codes in North Carolina.
The Top 5 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in North Carolina
The No. 1 most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina is 28480, which is centered on Wrightsville Beach, east of Wilmington. This vacation town is very wealthy. The median household income here is $121,417, with a mean household income of $185,809. Over the last five years, the median home value surged by 73.1%, from $902,573 in September 2019 to over $1.562 million in September 2024.
The second most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina is 28207. This is an affluent part of Charlotte. The median household income is really high, at $217,656. But the average household income is $389,928, which is easily one of the highest incomes in the state. The home value appreciation here has been substantial, though not as great as in the No. 1 most expensive ZIP code. From a median of $960,099 in September 2019, the median home value rose by 55%, reaching $1.487.7 million by the end of September 2024.
The third most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina is far away from the beach as well as from major metro areas like Charlotte. ZIP code 28717 is far in the west of North Carolina, right on the border with South Carolina in the backcountry. Centered on the unincorporated village of Cashiers, ZIP code 28717 is home to a series of beautiful houses. This place has caught fire in recent years, with its median home value growing by 104.6% — doubling from $692,525 in September 2019 to over $1.416 million as of September 2024. This ZIP code’s upstart status can be seen in its incomes: With a median household income of $71,023, residents of ZIP code 28717 earn roughly the national median income, and yet the median home value isn’t far off from $1.5 million.
The No. 4 most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina is 28646, which is centered on Linville, far in the west of North Carolina near the Tennessee border. Like the third most expensive ZIP code, 28646 is another backcountry beauty. Incomes here are very similar to the other backcountry ZIP code 28717, with the median household income in 28646 being $71,538 and the average household income $128,171. Home values, however, are far beyond what those incomes convey. The median home value in ZIP code 28646 was over $1.251 million in September 2024, up 71.1% since September 2019 when it was $731,573.
The fifth most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina — 28741 — is based on the town of Highlands, which is yet another western backcountry place. It’s understandable that these rugged ZIP codes are so expensive because the scenery is superb. This ZIP code saw a massive increase in home values over the last five years. In September 2019, the median home value was $549,672, before rising by over 81%, to reach $995,427 in September 2024. However, like ZIP codes 28717 and 28646, the local incomes here cannot sustain these home prices: The median household income in ZIP code 28741 is $65,606.
There is some sad news from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s popular Barn Owl Live Cam.
Wildlife officials say a Great Horned Owl entered the barn Wednesday around midnight and killed one of the barn owl owlets. Biologists have not been able to determine which owlet was lost.
They have confirmed it was one of the three youngest birds in the nest. The Wildlife Commission says the incident is heartbreaking but also a natural part of life in the wild.
Great Horned Owls are one of the main predators of Barn Owls, and encounters between the two species do happen. The attack was captured on the live camera.
Officials say the video also shows an extremely rare moment when the adult female Barn Owl fought the Great Horned Owl on top of the nest box. Despite the loss, the surviving owlets are expected to continue growing over the coming weeks.
They will lose their fluffy down feathers, begin exploring outside the barn, and continue developing hunting skills.
The Wildlife Commission says some of the young owls could leave the nest as early as July.
After leaving the nest, they usually travel alone and may eventually move hundreds of miles from where they hatched. The Barn Owl Live Cam remains available for the public to watch.
(WLOS) — In a tragic update, one of the baby barn owls being monitored by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has died after a great horned owl entered the barn and killed the owlet. The barn owlets had attracted worldwide attention through the wildlife commission’s ongoing observation efforts.
Officials with N.C. Wildlife said it is not yet clear which owlet was killed, but confirmed it was one of the three youngest.
The wildlife commission said it captured a photo of the great horned owl and the adult female barn owl fighting on top of the box, calling it an “extremely rare encounter to capture on camera.”
PHOTOS: OWLETS ‘HOO’ GAINED WORLDWIDE FAME ARE GROWING QUICKLY INTO YOUNG ADULTS
The wildlife commission said that while this loss is tragic, it is a common encounter because great horned owls are a top predator of barn owls. Officials also said this will likely not be the last encounter.
Over the next few weeks, the commission said viewers will likely see the remaining owlets start exploring, leaving the barn and learning to hunt. The fledglings may leave the barn as early as July to start hunting on their own, according to the commission.
You’ve got to feel terrible for former North Carolina standout Henri Veesaar right now. When he announced that he was leaving Chapel Hill to take his game to the NBA, plenty of eyebrows were raised. However, he was getting first-round grades, which made the decision a bit easy for him. That call has come back to backfire on him.
The first round of the NBA Draft has wrapped up, and the star big man never heard his name called. You’ve got to be kidding. There was always a bit of a worry that Veesaar would fall to the second round, but the recent buzz calmed worries there. Now, though, this setback has surely proverbially slapped him in the face a bit:
UNC’s Henri Veesaar does not get selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. He slips into the second round.
Turned down between $3-4 million to return to UNC? Maybe more?
— Ross Martin (@RossMartinNC) June 24, 2026
Henri Veesaar falling to the second round of the NBA Draft is a bit of a stunner
It’s no secret that Michael Malone and his new UNC staff were quite aggressive in their pursuits of bringing him back to Chapel Hill, as he would have easily had the Tar Heels in the Top 15-20 conversation. At first, with mock drafts popping up with him as a second-rounder, it felt like a return to the ACC was going to be in the works. The narrative changed there not long after, though.
He indeed bolted for the NBA Draft, with the assumption that he was going to be a first-rounder. Veesaar took a bit of a chance there, and things just did not go to plan for him. Let’s make one thing clear here too: we’re not happy in any way. With Veesaar leaving, Carolina fans were wishing him the best, the same way they were for Caleb Wilson.
Wilson ended up getting his life-changing news early during draft night, with the Chicago Bulls taking him off the board at No. 4 overall. Things were only made better for Wilson and North Carolina as a whole with Hubert Davis on hand for the former 5-star freshman’s big moment. It was a surprise not many of us were ready for.
On the flip side of things, Veesaar was left waiting for his special moment, but it never arrived. Is it possible that he’s having some serious regrets over things? We don’t want to speak for Veesaar or make any assumptions, but this just sucks as a whole for him. After averaging 17 points and eight rebounds per game, while taking home all-conference honors, it’s a bit of a stunner that his draft slide has taken place like this.
Had Veesaar returned to school, North Carolina’s 2026-27 outlook would have been looking much stronger. Instead, Malone went overseas to bring in Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov to help carry the load near the glass. That helps, but replacing Veesaar was always going to be a difficult task, as he’s a dominant force. We can play the ‘what if’ game all we want had he stayed in Chapel Hill for one more season, but that’s pointless. Still, it’s now feeling like Veesaar got some bad advice, and that playing for Malone would have been the best thing for him next campaign.
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