Living in Warsaw, North Carolina: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Warsaw to say.
A safer neighborhood12 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 24.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byVidant Duplin Hospital in Kenansville, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityRaleigh is about 65 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 Warsaw 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

Home prices since then: Up 31%Duplin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $925 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $54,297U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 44%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $987 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940: 7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 5%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 88.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas)

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 31% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas, not Warsaw 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: 2,8532020: 2,719
Median age: 38.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 9%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 9%U.S.: 6%
College students: 10%share of all residents

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: Transportation, warehousing and utilities (19%); schools, health care and social services (18%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 2%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 18%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Vidant Duplin Hospital, Kenansville, 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

2 public schools in Warsaw, run by Duplin County Schools.

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: 77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 84%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: 30°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 51 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 64 a year
Rain and melted snow: 52 inches a year
Snow: 2 inches a year
Elevation: 154 feet

Weather station: Warsaw 5 E (5 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

Vidant Duplin HospitalEmergency room8

Jacksonville, NCCity of 73,00044

Raleigh, NCMetro of 1.6 million65

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: Vidant Duplin Hospital, Jacksonville, Raleigh.

Duplin County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Warsaw Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Moores Creek National Battlefield37 miles

Read about Warsaw's history on Wikipedia.

Know Warsaw?

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

Rose Hill, NC1,400 people, 13 miles
Clinton, NC8,500 people, 14 miles
Mount Olive, NC4,500 people, 14 miles
Beulaville, NC1,200 people, 19 miles
Wallace, NC3,600 people, 19 miles
Brogden, NC2,700 people, 21 miles

Smaller places

Bowdens, NC (unincorporated)122 people, 4 miles
Turkey, NC227 people, 5 miles
Magnolia, NC875 people, 7 miles
Kenansville, NC814 people, 8 miles
Faison, NC824 people, 8 miles
Calypso, NC340 people, 11 miles
Delway, NC (unincorporated)167 people, 14 miles
Keener, NC (unincorporated)271 people, 14 miles

Sources

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.