27534 — Goldsboro, North Carolina

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 27534. Its median household income runs 29% above Goldsboro as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

46out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 11% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,941st of 3,116 ZIP areas measured26
Schools2,307th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured30
Growth1,917th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured45
Housing affordabilityTop 32% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured74
ClimateTop 38% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Physical resilience2,429th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured30
AccessTop 47% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured93
Economic stability2,207th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured42
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places 27534 in the bottom 6%. The unemployment rate is published for Goldsboro, NC, which contains 27534, rather than for 27534 alone.

In the public schools here, 35% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.1 students for every teacher.

124 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Goldsboro, NC, which contains 27534, rather than for 27534 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
30,415
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,574
Bottom 35% nationally
Density
416/sq mi
73.1 sq mi of land
Median age
39.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Goldsboro
North Carolina
Metro area
Nearest major airport
ISO
16 mi · Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld
Median home value
$208,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Goldsboro, NC, which contains 27534, is 5.0% — higher than in all but 27% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Goldsboro, NC, which contains 27534, fell 3.7% over the past year, to 11,356 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsWayne County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$47,5126th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftWayne County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,8508th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,1772024 ACS 5-Year$62,574Bottom 35%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,3712024 ACS 5-Year$38,578Top 43%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.6%Bottom 39%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.9 minTop 24%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.9%Top 33%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year85.2%82nd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentGoldsboro, NC’s figureJuly 202611,356Bottom 3%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Goldsboro, NC’s figureJuly 2026−5.8%Bottom 3%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Goldsboro, NC’s figureJuly 2026−3.7%Bottom 4%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceGoldsboro, NC’s figureJuly 202611,9594th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.4%Bottom 43%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageGoldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,660Bottom 2%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageGoldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$40,570Bottom 3%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%69th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Goldsboro, NC’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 40%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateGoldsboro, NC’s figureJuly 20265.0%Bottom 27%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%31st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202463k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $62,574 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Goldsboro, NC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons1,460$29,960
Cashiers1,270$27,170
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,190$38,300
Cooks, Fast Food1,110$22,510
Stockers and Order Fillers1,000$33,850
Registered Nurses950$82,740

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Goldsboro, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.

35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.1 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
35.4%
Bottom 33% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
37.8%
Bottom 24% in North Carolina
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Spring Creek ElementaryWayne County Public Schools80415.236%30%
Eastern Wayne HighWayne County Public Schools78119.036%40%
Meadow Lane ElementaryWayne County Public Schools67415.344%51%
Eastern Wayne ElementaryWayne County Public Schools59721.322%28%
Tommy's Road ElementaryWayne County Public Schools54516.538%37%
Eastern Wayne MiddleWayne County Public Schools42719.422%32%
Greenwood MiddleWayne County Public Schools40216.836%35%
Wayne STEM Academy · charterWayne STEM Academy30512.7——
Wayne Early / Middle College HighWayne County Public Schools23926.675%75%
Wayne Middle / High AcademyWayne County Public Schools9215.33%3%
Edgewood Cmty DevelopmentalWayne County Public Schools3812.78%37%

96.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against North Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area is up 51% over five years, and up 0.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,680 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.81% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,244, some 10% above the $1,135 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,244 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $49,800 a year, about 80% of the median household income here of $62,574.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,135 a month.

A median home at $208,000 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,138, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
89.9

Prices here run about 10% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,244
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,135
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$208,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 27534’s median household income of $62,574, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Goldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure202389.9Top 10%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.8%15th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+51.1%80th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Goldsboro, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+77.4%22nd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 38%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year52.4%10th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6962024 ACS 5-Year14,83392nd percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$948Top 23%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,496Top 22%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,244Top 32%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$572024 ACS 5-Year$1,135Bottom 39%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,6072024 ACS 5-Year$208,00046th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1072024 ACS 5-Year$1,68042nd percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,3402024 ACS 5-Year$86,138Top 45%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.81%42nd percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.5%Bottom 43%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1012024 ACS 5-Year9073rd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%43rd percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%56th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3372024 ACS 5-Year1,27391st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

45/ 100
Ranks 1,917 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

At 3.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Goldsboro, NC, which contains 27534, rather than for 27534 alone.

Units permitted
124
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.6
Top 44% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
38.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
45%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$47,512
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$49,850
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Johnston County, NC 738 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Wake County, NC 398 people · 6.5% of arrivals
  3. Lenoir County, NC 293 people · 4.8% of arrivals
  4. Duplin County, NC 285 people · 4.7% of arrivals
  5. Wilson County, NC 203 people · 3.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Johnston County, NC 554 people · 9.4% of departures
  2. Lenoir County, NC 417 people · 7.1% of departures
  3. Wake County, NC 379 people · 6.5% of departures
  4. Duplin County, NC 243 people · 4.1% of departures
  5. Wilson County, NC 199 people · 3.4% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Wayne County, NC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Goldsboro, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 35°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 52.3 inches, including 2.0 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station GOLDSBORO 4 SE, 4.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals52.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals2.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

30 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 42% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HurricaneElevated
HailModerate
Strong windModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, tornado, inland flooding, heat wave, lightning, ice storm, drought, earthquake, wildfire, landslide, coastal flooding, tsunami, avalanche, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
11.8
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
21.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.2
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 27534 (Wayne County) rather than 27534 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Goldsboro carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld at 16 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.9%Top 37%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle16 miTop 45%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%Top 41%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings FldISO16 mi11,498 ft
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU62 mi10,000 ft
Wilmington IntlILM76 mi8,016 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
46
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

27534 vs Goldsboro

How this ZIP area compares with Goldsboro as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

27534
Goldsboro
Median household income: 27534 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$62,574
vs
$48,540
Per capita income: 27534 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$38,578
vs
$30,497
Population density
416/sq mi
vs
1,203/sq mi
Median home value
$208,000
vs
$200,400
Median gross rent: Goldsboro is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,135
vs
$971
Homeownership rate
52.4%
vs
36.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 27534 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
30.9%
vs
21.0%
Poverty rate: 27534 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
12.6%
vs
22.9%
Median age
39.0
vs
36.8

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.