While big cities like Fayetteville offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Fayetteville. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Fayetteville without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Fayetteville are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Fayetteville area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Fayetteville for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Fayetteville? Pinehurst ranks as the best suburb of Fayetteville for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Pinehurst, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Fayetteville ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about North Carolina:
The 10 Best Fayetteville Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 17,653
Median Income: $102,917
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.5%
More on Pinehurst: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Pinehurst is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Fayetteville area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Pinehurst.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $102,917 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Fayetteville region. And only 4.16% are out of work. Homes average more than $487,605 each.
/10
Whispering Pines is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Fayetteville for 2024.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 2.59% of residents lack insurance, good for 2nd best.
/10
Population: 8,674
Median Income: $69,758
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 8.1%
More on Aberdeen: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Aberdeen, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Fayetteville metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Aberdeen.
I moved the Aberdeen to get away from the REAL rednecks. Clearly, you’ve not been to any town in Montgomery County… Seven Lakes is less than 20 minutes from Aberdeen, by the way – and is less” redneck than Pinehurst- Com’on, now.
/10
Population: 15,701
Median Income: $81,867
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%
Poverty Rate: 9.7%
More on Southern Pines: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Southern Pines ranks as the 4th best suburb of Fayetteville for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Southern Pines and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 3,659
Median Income: $68,646
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
Poverty Rate: 9.7%
More on Eastover: Data | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Eastover.
Eastover gets kudos for having the 5th most expensive homes in the Fayetteville area, where houses sell for an average of $320,732. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
6. Carthage, NC
/10
Population: 2,779
Median Income: $55,469
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 11.2%
More on Carthage: Crime | Real Estate
Carthage is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.0%.
According to online reports, Carthage is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Fayetteville area, meaning you need to get in soon.
7. Lillington, NC
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Population: 4,566
Median Income: $57,774
Unemployment Rate: 0.8%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Lillington: Crime | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Lillington.
Lillington schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 23.7 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 17,671
Median Income: $57,864
Unemployment Rate: 7.8%
Poverty Rate: 16.2%
More on Hope Mills: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Hope Mills is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 10.13% of people lack insurance, good for 10th in the area.
9. Erwin, NC
/10
Population: 4,606
Median Income: $49,245
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 13.1%
More on Erwin: Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Erwin?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 8,549
Median Income: $41,843
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 21.6%
More on Dunn: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Dunn.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Dunn has always been a place that has been “bottom of the barrell” for towns to live in. They have no leaders willing to do what it takes to modernize and bring the town into the 21st century. It’s very sad. I can say something because I was raised in Dunn and still live in the area.
Sherry’s Bakery has the best donuts!
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Fayetteville for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Fayetteville was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Fayetteville.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 16 suburbs to evaluate around Fayetteville.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 16 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Fayetteville.” We’re lookin’ at you, Pinehurst.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Fayetteville suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Fayetteville ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Fayetteville are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Fayetteville but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more North Carolina reading, check out:
- Best Places To Retire In North Carolina
- Richest Cities In North Carolina
- Safest Cities in North Carolina
Table: Best Fayetteville Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pinehurst, NC | 17,653 | $102,917 | $487,605 |
| 2 | Whispering Pines, NC | 4,938 | $105,707 | $509,958 |
| 3 | Aberdeen, NC | 8,674 | $69,758 | $315,702 |
| 4 | Southern Pines, NC | 15,701 | $81,867 | $460,376 |
| 5 | Eastover, NC | 3,659 | $68,646 | $320,732 |
| 6 | Carthage, NC | 2,779 | $55,469 | $336,690 |
| 7 | Lillington, NC | 4,566 | $57,774 | $276,877 |
| 8 | Hope Mills, NC | 17,671 | $57,864 | $227,508 |
| 9 | Erwin, NC | 4,606 | $49,245 | $192,387 |
| 10 | Dunn, NC | 8,549 | $41,843 | $213,087 |
| 11 | Raeford, NC | 4,570 | $38,371 | $257,960 |
| 12 | Coats, NC | 2,324 | $42,566 | $230,306 |
| 13 | Sanford, NC | 30,373 | $52,951 | $276,198 |
| 14 | Spring Lake, NC | 11,710 | $44,447 | $219,908 |
| 15 | St. Pauls, NC | 2,261 | $36,490 | $127,827 |
| 16 | Red Springs, NC | 3,118 | $20,917 | $85,668 |