Fairfield HarbourNC
A town of 2,948.
What should you know before moving to Fairfield Harbour?
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C−, 190th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Among 290 North Carolina towns, just 7 have a higher median age than Fairfield Harbour.
What makes Fairfield Harbour stand out
Where Fairfield Harbour beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
99% of working residents leave Fairfield Harbour for work
Where Fairfield Harbour’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Fairfield Harbour grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Fairfield Harbour is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Fairfield Harbour: who provides what
Fairfield Harbour is unincorporated, so Craven County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Fairfield Harbour.
Fairfield Harbour is healthier than towns with similar incomes and sends most of its workers to New Bern and beyond, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
Fairfield Harbour has set aside 0.1% of its land for conservation
9.7 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Fairfield Harbour is 2.1 miles per square mile.
| Fairfield Harbour | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
43% of residents are 65 or older
People 65 and older are 43% of residents (17% statewide); children under 18 are 8% of residents (22% statewide). 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across North Carolina.
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.3 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Fairfield Harbour | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.2% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.1% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.6% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.1% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 4.8% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 22.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 21% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.2% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 14.1% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.4% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16.1% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.1% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.2% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,900, single groups can be off by several points
Very high risk in Fairfield Harbour, with hurricanes at the top
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of North Carolina towns; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fairfield Harbour stands out in North Carolina and nationally: a smaller share of its adults report frequent mental distress
Against the 10,697 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fairfield Harbour’s, it is healthier than 91%, so its A− isn’t only a matter of income.
11% of adults report frequent mental distress in Fairfield Harbour. Fairfield Harbour beats the North Carolina average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 28% of adults feel lonely in Fairfield Harbour.
| Fairfield Harbour | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 87% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Fairfield Harbour | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 4.9% | 12.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.3% | 8.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 16% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
About one in three of Fairfield Harbour’s working residents commute to New Bern
Fairfield Harbour has 112 jobs for its 944 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 33.4 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
Most working residents leave Fairfield Harbour for work: only 1% work in town. Fairfield Harbour’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. Since 2013, Fairfield Harbour has added 43 jobs, to 112 in 2023.
| Fairfield Harbour | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fairfield Harbour has mild winters and hot summers
Fairfield Harbour has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 35° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A typical Fairfield Harbour home is worth about $329K
The typical Fairfield Harbour home is worth about $329,000, up 2% in a year, close to the North Carolina typical home. 89% of Fairfield Harbour households own their home.
| Fairfield Harbour | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,758 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Queen Anne's Revenge and 9 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairfield Harbour. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi Ancient siteQueen Anne's Revenge
5 mi MuseumTryon Palace
30 mi State parkFort Macon State Park
37 mi MuseumCSS Neuse
40 mi LighthouseCape Lookout Lighthouse
31 mi National SeashoreCape Lookout National Seashore513K visitors a yearPhoto credits
Queen Anne's Revenge: Joseph Nicholls, Public domain · Tryon Palace: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Fort Macon State Park: Kevinbercaw, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CSS Neuse: Katyrw, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cape Lookout Lighthouse: United States Coast Guard, Public domain · Cape Lookout National Seashore: Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY 3.0
Everything we know about Fairfield Harbour
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fairfield Harbour
About 5 of every 100 Fairfield Harbour residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
About Fairfield Harbour
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
Fairfield Harbour is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Fairfield Harbour had a population of 2,767. It is part of the New Bern, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 7 ft
Questions about Fairfield Harbour
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fairfield Harbour, NC a good place to live?
Fairfield Harbour grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #190 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A− for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Fairfield Harbour, NC expensive?
That is 5.1 years of the area's median household income ($64,475 across the New Bern, NC area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.