© OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap
Moving to
Piney Green.
Piney Green is an unincorporated community in Onslow County, NC. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Piney Green
Piney Green is an unincorporated community in North Carolina with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Piney Green deals with above-average rainfall, fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Above-average rainfall
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Piney Green compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Piney Green
Based on Piney Green's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,404
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $48,080 a year
- 40% of Piney Green renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$45,520
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $22,760
- Homes cost 3.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 15% below US
$1,202/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,202 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $227,600. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $227,600 · 40% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Onslow County is 4.0%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Onslow County (county-wide)
Safety
260 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Piney Green doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Onslow County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 958/100k · Policed by Onslow County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
25 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 24.8 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 13% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 88°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 37°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 33% below US
24% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 24%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Moores Creek National Battlefield (48 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Piney Green's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are above-average rainfall and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city. A year of median rent ($1,202/mo) equals 20% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget.
See all the data for Piney Green →·All North Carolina cities →
Other places near Piney Green
All North Carolina guides →Moving to Jacksonville →
4 mi away · pop. 71,279
Rent $1,321/mo · Income $57,697
Compare with Piney Green →Moving to Havelock →
27 mi away · pop. 17,691
Rent $1,280/mo · Income $58,408
Compare with Piney Green →Moving to New Bern →
30 mi away · pop. 32,734
Rent $1,081/mo · Income $61,031
Compare with Piney Green →Not sure Piney Green is the one?
Put it side by side with another city.