27577 — Smithfield, North Carolina

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 27577. Its median household income runs 45% above Smithfield as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 40% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 39% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured59
Schools2,134th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured35
GrowthTop 6% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured78
Housing affordability2,028th of 3,112 ZIP areas measured61
ClimateTop 38% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Physical resilienceTop 44% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured63
Access2,349th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured81
Economic stability2,636th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured30
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.2% and median household income $62,758, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Smithfield, NC, which contains 27577, rather than for 27577 alone.

In the public schools here, 35% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.8 students for every teacher.

2,962 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Smithfield, NC, which contains 27577, rather than for 27577 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
28,354
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,758
Bottom 35% nationally
Density
273/sq mi
103.7 sq mi of land
Median age
41.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Smithfield
North Carolina
Nearest major airport
RDU
36 mi · Raleigh-Durham Intl
Median home value
$260,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Smithfield, NC, which contains 27577, is 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Smithfield, NC, which contains 27577, fell 1.2% over the past year, to 126,140 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsJohnston County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,69945th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftJohnston County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$61,53533rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,0032024 ACS 5-Year$62,758Bottom 35%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,3692024 ACS 5-Year$30,924Bottom 30%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year18.5%Bottom 20%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.8 minBottom 39%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year20.2%Bottom 41%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year85.2%82nd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentSmithfield, NC’s figureJuly 2026126,140Top 27%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Smithfield, NC’s figureJuly 2026+1.8%Top 26%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Smithfield, NC’s figureJuly 2026−1.2%Bottom 39%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceSmithfield, NC’s figureJuly 2026130,29573rd percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.0%Bottom 22%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageRaleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$70,740Top 31%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageRaleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,990Top 32%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%60th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Smithfield, NC’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 49%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateSmithfield, NC’s figureJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.8%29th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202463k52k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $62,758 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 — Raleigh-Cary, NC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons18,660$33,100
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand17,060$38,470
Cashiers14,350$29,770
Customer Service Representatives13,620$41,900
Fast Food and Counter Workers12,790$29,080
Registered Nurses12,780$84,830

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 Smithfield, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.

35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.8 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.8
across 8 of them
Math proficiency
34.9%
Bottom 30% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
40.4%
Bottom 34% in North Carolina
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Smithfield-Selma HighJohnston County Public Schools1,54818.036%30%
Neuse Charter School · charterNeuse Charter School92517.544%60%
Smithfield MiddleJohnston County Public Schools57313.321%34%
West Smithfield ElementaryJohnston County Public Schools49413.411%14%
South Smithfield ElementaryJohnston County Public Schools45012.517%20%
The Innovation Academy at South CampusJohnston County Public Schools26314.637%57%
Johnston Co Early College AcademyJohnston County Public Schools25135.975%95%
Johnston County Schools Career TechnicalJohnston County Public Schools24148.265%65%
Choice Plus AcademyJohnston County Public Schools978.8——

99.0% 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 2% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 98.4, 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 Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area is up 45% over five years, and up 1.1% 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 $1,816 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.70% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,350, some 61% above the $837 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,350 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $54,000 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $62,758.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $837 a month.

A median home at $260,300 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $83,717, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
98.4

Prices here run about 2% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Raleigh-Cary, 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
35.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,350
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$837
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$260,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 27577’s median household income of $62,758, 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 Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure202398.4Bottom 49%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.1%23rd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+44.9%55th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+105.2%64th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 37%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.2%36th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8802024 ACS 5-Year11,15986th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,190Top 44%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,660Top 34%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,350Top 40%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1182024 ACS 5-Year$837Top 29%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,5032024 ACS 5-Year$260,30060th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1002024 ACS 5-Year$1,81646th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,7602024 ACS 5-Year$83,717Top 49%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.70%32nd percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year35.7%Bottom 16%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1872024 ACS 5-Year23387th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.1%60th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%41st percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2682024 ACS 5-Year86285th 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

78/ 100
Top 6% 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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 2,962 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 12% are in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Smithfield, NC, which contains 27577, rather than for 27577 alone.

At 12.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Smithfield, NC, which contains 27577, rather than for 27577 alone.

Units permitted
2,962
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
12.6
Top 8% nationally
Year over year
+5%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
12.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+2.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
31%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$65,699
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$61,535
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Wake County, NC 6,568 people · 41% of arrivals
  2. Harnett County, NC 712 people · 4.4% of arrivals
  3. Wayne County, NC 554 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  4. Durham County, NC 376 people · 2.3% of arrivals
  5. Cumberland County, NC 268 people · 1.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Wake County, NC 3,461 people · 30% of departures
  2. Harnett County, NC 829 people · 7.1% of departures
  3. Wayne County, NC 738 people · 6.3% of departures
  4. Wilson County, NC 299 people · 2.6% of departures
  5. Nash County, NC 262 people · 2.2% 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 Johnston 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 Smithfield, 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, 23.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
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
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

63 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 52% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneElevated
DroughtModerate
Strong windModerate
Cold waveModerate
LandslideModerate

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

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
4.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
11.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
14.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.9
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 27577 (Johnston County) rather than 27577 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. Smithfield 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.
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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Raleigh-Durham Intl at 36 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year86.2%Bottom 35%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle36 miBottom 23%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 40%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.3%Bottom 29%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU36 mi10,000 ft
Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings FldISO43 mi11,498 ft
Wilmington IntlILM88 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
61
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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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

27577 vs Smithfield

How this ZIP area compares with Smithfield 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.

27577
Smithfield
Median household income: 27577 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$62,758
vs
$43,270
Per capita income: Smithfield is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$30,924
vs
$30,986
Population density
273/sq mi
vs
954/sq mi
Median home value
$260,300
vs
$242,500
Median gross rent: Smithfield is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$837
vs
$658
Homeownership rate
73.2%
vs
58.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Smithfield is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
20.2%
vs
26.7%
Poverty rate: 27577 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
18.5%
vs
27.3%
Median age
41.3
vs
44.9

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.