ZIP 28540

28540 is one of 13 ZIP codes that lie mostly in Onslow County, NC.

Shaded by typical home value, it ranks 8 of the 10 with a value.

17 school locations in 28540: 10 elementary, 4 middle, 3 high.

In alphabetical order: Bell Fork Elementary, Blue Creek Elementary, Clear View Elementary, Clyde Erwin Elementary, and more on the ZIP page. Locations only — no ratings are shown here.

In August 2005 the typical home in 28540 was worth $113,882.

Values peaked at $260,062 in August 2026. The latest reading is the peak.

As of August 2026: $260,062, +4.0% over twelve months.

Start with the typical home: $260,062. Put 20% down and borrow $208,050 at 7.40%, the 30-year fixed average as of October 8, 2026.

That is $1,440 a month in principal and interest.

The median household here earns $61,462 a year, $5,122 a month. So the payment takes 28.1% of income — rated “stretched” (Lotvox ZIP bands: under 28% affordable · 28–36% stretched · 36%+ severe).

The line holds today's rate fixed and moves only the price: at that rate, the same share was 12.3% in 2005.

Take the typical home's price each month, borrow 80% at that month's actual 30-year average rate: in August 2005 (5.82%) the payment was $536.

In December 2020, with rates at 2.68%, it was $537.

By August 2026, at 6.67%, it was $1,338 — +149% since December 2020, while the home's value moved +57%.

Reported values rose +128% since August 2005.

General prices (CPI-U) rose +70% over the same span.

Divide one by the other: in August 2026 dollars, the 2005 home was worth $194,041. So the real change is +34%, not +128%.

28540: +128% since August 2005.

Onslow County: +122% since August 2005.

North Carolina: +116% since August 2005 — 28540 ran ahead of it by 13 points.

Owning the typical home costs about $1,701 a month once taxes and insurance (estimated at 1.2% of price a year) are added. Renting runs about $1,415 a month.

Price divided by a year's rent: 15.3. Lotvox reads under 15 as favoring buying and 20 or more as favoring renting.

Picture the Listings Flow Ladder as a basin: new listings pour in from the faucet, the homes for sale are the water, and closed sales run out the drain. Coming in — new listings: about 83 a month (Redfin, 3-month rolling data through August 2026). That is 86% of the 2015–2019 level for the same months.

On the shelf — homes for sale at the end of the period: 191. That is 48% of the 2015–2019 level for the same months.

Going out — closed sales: about 87 a month. That is 100% of the 2015–2019 level for the same months.

The ladder: homes for sale ÷ monthly sales = 2.2 months of supply — below the 4–6 month range Lotvox treats as balanced. In the basin, that is the water level against the shaded balanced band.

The net reading: about 4 more homes sold than came on each month, so inventory is shrinking. The basin is draining.

Homes sold: about 87 a month in August 2026 (Redfin).

The 2015–2019 level for the same month was 72 — so sales ran at 121% of it, and below it in 13 of the last 24 months.

Across Onslow County, builders pulled permits for 1,372 new homes in 2025.

Of those, 96% were in 1-unit buildings (the Census Bureau's category for detached and attached single homes).

This ZIP sits in Onslow County. IRS tax returns for 2022-2023: among the ten counties sending the most households, 2,202 moved in. Among the ten receiving the most, 2,033 moved out.

Net across those counties: +169 households. Beside it, homes for sale in this ZIP: 191 in June 2026.

Most arrivals came from San Diego, CA (455 households); most departures went to San Diego, CA (392).