North Carolina
What $500,000 buys you in North Carolina vs New Jersey is not even close
Before I came back to NJ 101.5 last August, I had a few months where things were quiet on the radio front in New Jersey and over in Philly. Quiet enough that my phone started ringing from other places.
Charlotte. Raleigh. Two separate conversations with two separate radio stations in North Carolina. I did the interviews. I listened to their stations carefully and gave their managers honest thoughts on how to improve their programming. I went far enough down the road that I had to actually think about it — not as a hypothetical, but as a real decision Linda and I would have to make about our lives.
I did not take either job. I came home to NJ 101.5 instead, which is exactly where I belong. But I spent enough time with those numbers — housing, taxes, cost of living — that they are still sitting in my head. And every time I read about another wave of New Jersey residents heading south, I think about what I saw.
What $500,000 buys you there
The median home price in Charlotte right now is around $415,000. In Raleigh it is around $426,000. That means $500,000 is not the ceiling — it is well above the median. It buys you a serious house. A newer construction home in a desirable suburb. Four bedrooms, three baths, a two-car garage, a backyard worth using. In some neighborhoods, a finished basement and a covered porch on top of that.
In and around New Jersey, $500,000 is a starting point for a conversation. In many parts of the state it gets you something modest. In Bergen, Morris or Essex County it barely qualifies as entry-level. The median home price in New Jersey sits around $584,000 — and that is the middle. Half the homes in the state cost more than that.
What $500,000 buys you here
The house math is only the beginning. The part that really stings is what comes after you buy it.
New Jersey’s effective property tax rate is 1.77 percent — the highest in the country. On a $500,000 home that is roughly $8,850 a year, and the statewide average bill has already pushed past $9,800. North Carolina’s effective property tax rate is 0.62 percent. On the same $500,000 home — the better house you bought for less money — that is about $3,100 a year.
The difference is more than $5,700 annually. Every single year. That is before you factor in that North Carolina has a flat income tax rate of 3.99 percent — dropping further — while New Jersey’s top rate hits 10.75 percent. That is before you factor in car insurance, which costs the average NJ driver about $3,400 a year compared to roughly $1,600 in North Carolina. That is before the tolls.
Add it up and the gap between living in New Jersey and living in Charlotte or Raleigh is not a number. It is a lifestyle.
What I found out about those cities
I want to be fair here, because during those months I paid real attention to both places. Charlotte feels like a city — South End, NoDa, Plaza Midwood, Dilworth. Real neighborhoods with restaurants and music and a downtown that works. Raleigh has the Research Triangle, Apple, Google, a university ecosystem that brings in young energy and jobs. The weather is genuinely good — not Florida humid, not the frozen tundra —this past winter fresh in our minds.
Both cities are growing fast because people from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania keep arriving and discovering what the math already told them.
I have my own South Carolina data point too. In May of 2020, at the peak of COVID, Linda and I drove down to Charleston for over a week. Our reason was straightforward — South Carolina was still largely open when New Jersey was not. Open restaurants. Open bars. Folly Beach was packed and alive while the Jersey Shore sat empty. I liked it there. I liked the pace, the vibe, the waterfront. I remember thinking, I could live here. And what your money buys you in Charleston versus here is its own kind of revelation.
SEE ALSO: 192,00 have left NJ since 2020 — Is your town next on the list
Our home — 33 years and counting | photo by EJ
So why didn’t I go
Because of thirty-three years in the same house. Because of raising two kids here. Because of the friends we have known since before any of this happened. Because holiday and summer weekend gatherings are not a flight away.
When I thought about it honestly — really honestly — I realized I would rather leave the business I love than leave the home, the family, and the community we have spent a lifetime building. That is what kept me here. Not the taxes. Not the property values. Not the math — which, as I have just laid out, loses badly.
I made peace with that. I am genuinely glad I stayed. I am exactly where I want to be.
People leaving New Jersey are not leaving because they want to. They are leaving because the math eventually wins. I just happened to be one of the ones for whom it did not.
At least not yet.
LOOK: Here’s where people in every state are moving to most
Gallery Credit: Amanda Silvestri
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A man was found dead and a juvenile was injured after a shooting early Sunday morning in Fayetteville, police said.
According to the Fayetteville Police Department, officers responded around 4:03 a.m. to multiple ShotSpotter alerts in the area of Newark Avenue.
While investigating the reports and searching for evidence, officers found numerous shell casings and discovered a man suffering from a gunshot wound in the 700 block of State Avenue.
Emergency medical personnel pronounced the man dead at the scene.
Police said a juvenile male later arrived at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with non-life-threatening gunshot injuries connected to the incident. He is listed in stable condition.
The Fayetteville Police Department’s Homicide Unit has taken over the investigation.
Police said the shooting appears to be an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective E. Alrafai at 910-723-0327 or submit an anonymous tip through Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers.
The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Saturday, July 4, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from July 4 drawing
17-38-46-50-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from July 4 drawing
Day: 0-2-0, Fireball: 8
Evening: 3-0-5, Fireball: 0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from July 4 drawing
Day: 1-1-9-3, Fireball: 9
Evening: 7-0-2-1, Fireball: 5
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 5 numbers from July 4 drawing
11-22-24-25-29
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Double Play numbers from July 4 drawing
13-20-28-32-43
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 4 drawing
17-20-37-40-43, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.
For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:
- Asheville Regional Office & Claim Center: 16-G Regent Park Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806, 877-625-6886 press #1. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Greensboro Regional Office & Claim Center: 20A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, 877-625-6886 press #2. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Charlotte Regional Office & Claim Center: 5029-A West W. T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269-1861, 877-625-6886 press #3. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- NC Lottery Headquarters: Raleigh Claim Center & Regional Office, 2728 Capital Blvd., Suite 144, Raleigh, NC 27604, 877-625-6886 press #4. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
- Greenville Regional Office & Claim Center: 2790 Dickinson Avenue, Suite A, Greenville, NC 27834, 877-625-6886 press #5. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Wilmington Regional Office & Claim Center: 123 North Cardinal Drive Extension, Suite 140, Wilmington, NC 28405, 877-625-6886 press #6. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.
When are the North Carolina Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3, 4: 3:00 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Cash 5: 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — An intense heat wave will continue through the Fourth of July weekend. Highs will be around 100 degrees, with feels-like temperatures as high as 110 degrees. Daily record high temperatures may also be challenged or even broken.
The combination of intense sunshine and prolonged heat will create dangerous conditions for anyone spending extended periods outdoors. And as the temperatures soar outside, people across Central North Carolina do what they can to stay cool, especially when they have to head out. One homeowner who experienced a hours-long power outage in Durham said it was miserable without his air conditioning. Another said it feels like the heat has intensified in North Carolina.
“I grew up in North Carolina, but I don’t remember waves being quite this intense.”
To compound the misery, ABC11’s Forecast Team says there will be little overnight relief, with temperatures only falling into the mid-70s throughout the heat wave, and the air quality is deteriorating.
Basically, right now, Central NC is a hot, muggy, sweltering, poor-air-quality mess. And it’s expected to last into early next week.
With somewhat stagnant conditions, smoke from Saturday night’s July 4th fireworks could linger into Sunday, something to keep in mind, especially for those who are more sensitive to reduced air quality.
The record-breaking heat has led to organizers tweaking some July 4th plans for the safety of performers, staff, and attendees.
Download the ABC11 App for breaking news and weather alerts
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