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Towns / North Carolina

Walnut Creek, North Carolina

Walnut Creek is a small town of about 1,100 people in Wayne County, North Carolina. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Raleigh, is about 56 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,119
up 3.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$468,700
Wayne County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$166,250
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Goldsboro area
88.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Goldsboro, NC
To Raleigh
56 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.5% below the U.S. average in the Goldsboro metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Walnut Creek itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Eastern Wayne High, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byUNC Health Care Wayne in Goldsboro, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRaleigh is about 56 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Walnut Creek meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$468,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Wayne County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,788 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$166,250U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$3,962 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
20%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.5U.S. average = 100 (the Goldsboro metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Goldsboro metro area, not Walnut Creek alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,1192020: 1,079
Median age
42.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Finance, insurance and real estate (18%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UNC Health Care Wayne, Goldsboro, NC, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Walnut Creek itself. The nearest public high school is Eastern Wayne High, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on North Carolina's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
94%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
99%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
35°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
61 a year
Nights at or below freezing
42 a year
Rain and melted snow
52.3 inches a year
Snow
2 inches a year
Elevation
93 feet

Weather station: Goldsboro 4 SE (6 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: UNC Health Care Wayne, Greenville, Raleigh.

Wayne County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Moores Creek National Battlefield60 miles

Read about Walnut Creek's history on Wikipedia.

Know Walnut Creek?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • New Hope, NC (unincorporated)1,487 people, 5 miles
  • Dudley, NC (unincorporated)2,305 people, 10 miles
  • Pikeville, NC738 people, 14 miles
  • Deep Run, NC (unincorporated)662 people, 15 miles
  • Jackson Heights, NC (unincorporated)794 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.