The 10 Best Fayetteville Suburbs To Live In For 2022


We analyzed over 16 places around Fayetteville to identify the most in demand places to live.

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Editor’s Note: Data has been updated for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best Fayetteville suburbs.

Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.

There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.

But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.

Of course, not all suburbs of Fayetteville are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...

Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Fayetteville for 2022:

  1. Whispering Pines
  2. Pinehurst
  3. Aberdeen
  4. Hope Mills
  5. Eastover
  6. Southern Pines
  7. Carthage
  8. Lillington
  9. Sanford
  10. Erwin

What's the best suburb of Fayetteville? Whispering Pines ranks as the best suburb of Fayetteville for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Whispering Pines, 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.

Note: 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 larger selection of suburbs.

Feel free to check out some more reading about North Carolina:

The 10 Best Fayetteville Suburbs To Live For 2022

Whispering Pines is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Fayetteville area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Whispering Pines."

Everyone here is rich; families average $88,029 a year, which is the highest in the Fayetteville region. And only 0.99% are out of work. Homes average more than $344,600 each.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 3,357
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $88,029
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.9%
More on Whispering Pines: Real Estate | Data

Pinehurst is the second best 'burb we looked at near Fayetteville for 2022.

It ranks 2nd for incomes in the area and only 2.26% of residents lack insurance, good for 2nd best.

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 16,382
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $87,609
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Pinehurst: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Pinehurst, NC

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.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,862
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,770
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 7.0%
More on Aberdeen: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Aberdeen, NC

Hope Mills ranks as the 4th best suburb of Fayetteville for 2022.

You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Hope Mills and the schools are some of the best around.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 15,972
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $47,730
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%
Poverty Rate: 15.8%
More on Hope Mills: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Hope Mills, NC

Source: Public domain

Coming in as the fifth best is Eastover.

Eastover gets kudos for having the 4th most expensive homes in the Fayetteville area, where houses sell for an average of $222,400. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,740
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $55,174
Unemployment Rate: 6.5%
Poverty Rate: 12.1%
More on Eastover: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Eastover, NC

Southern Pines 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 8.06% which is 14th best in the area.

According to online reports, Southern Pines is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Fayetteville area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 14,347
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $70,549
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%
Poverty Rate: 13.0%
More on Southern Pines: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Southern Pines, NC

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Carthage.

Carthage 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 29.3 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,518
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Median Income: $41,731
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 10.5%
More on Carthage: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Carthage, NC

Lillington 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 14.7% of people lack insurance, good for 12th in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,605
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $47,277
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 11.1%
More on Lillington: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Lillington, NC

Is 'Everything Better In Sanford?'

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.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 29,758
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $47,017
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%
Poverty Rate: 20.5%
More on Sanford: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Sanford, NC

And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Erwin.

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.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,104
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $41,702
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 14.6%
More on Erwin: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Erwin, NC

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Fayetteville for 2022

Figuring out the best suburbs around Fayetteville was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

  • 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

Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.

FYI: 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.

And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Fayetteville." We're lookin' at you, Whispering Pines. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or 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 2022

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.

So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Fayetteville, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Fayetteville Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income
1 Whispering Pines, NC 3,357 $88,029
2 Pinehurst, NC 16,382 $87,609
3 Aberdeen, NC 7,862 $58,770
4 Hope Mills, NC 15,972 $47,730
5 Eastover, NC 3,740 $55,174
6 Southern Pines, NC 14,347 $70,549
7 Carthage, NC 2,518 $41,731
8 Lillington, NC 3,605 $47,277
9 Sanford, NC 29,758 $47,017
10 Erwin, NC 5,104 $41,702
11 Coats, NC 2,463 $39,659
12 Dunn, NC 9,738 $34,464
13 Raeford, NC 4,943 $34,231
14 Spring Lake, NC 12,093 $39,898
15 St. Pauls, NC 2,114 $30,495
16 Red Springs, NC 3,291 $24,427

How Is Your Town In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.