Mar-Mac gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $149K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Goldsboro metro’s $60K median household income. It grades C− overall, 201st of 286 graded towns in North Carolina. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 71% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Only 2 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Mar-Mac. Mar-Mac's schools rank behind 74% of the state's.

StrongestA⁻Cost of livingWeakestD⁻Walkability C⁻Hazard risk CJobs & income CSchools

A shrinking town

Mar-Mac has shrunk 12% from 2010 to 2020

3,615 counted in 2010 and 3,184 in 2020.

3,6152010

3,1842020

U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts

How Mar-Mac grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Mar-Mac is from typical.

How grading works

WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.2 of 20; 2% of households have no carD⁻Open →Cost of livingA⁻Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC⁻Open →Jobs & incomeCOpen →SchoolsCOpen →HealthUNC Health Care Wayne 7.4 miles awayC⁺Open →

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.

OutdoorsConserved land, trails and parksCOpen →HistoryD⁻Open →

Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

Climate–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 39.0; 20% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →

How TownRatings grades towns →

Getting set up

Moving to Mar-Mac: who provides what

Mar-Mac is unincorporated, so Wayne County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerTri-County Elec Member Corp (NC)13.3¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA

WaterSouthern Wayne Sanitary Dist water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA

Internet4 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC

Trash & county servicesWayne CountyWayne County provides services here

SchoolsWayne County Public SchoolsWhich school depends on your addressNCES

Register to voteOnlineIn North Carolina you can register online until 25 days before Election Day, in person with same-day registration during the early voting period, or by mail (postmarked 25 days before).vote.gov

Who runs elections hereWayne County Board of ElectionsWayne County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, May 2019

ZIP codes27530, 2833327530 71% · 28333 29%Census 2020

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 Mar-Mac.

Mar-Mac is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and sends most of its workers to Goldsboro and beyond.

Work & commuteJobs & income grade C

Most working residents commute out of Mar-Mac

Mar-Mac has 126 jobs for its 1,219 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.

Most working residents leave Mar-Mac for work: only 0% work in town. Since 2013, Mar-Mac has lost 161 jobs, to 126 in 2023. Mar-Mac’s median household income is $54,000, where North Carolina’s towns sit at $69,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000.

0%work in town

	Mar-Mac	North Carolina towns	U.S. towns
Median household income	$54,000	$69,000	$80,000
Below the poverty line	12%	13%	9.6%

Where working residents work

In Mar-Mac0%

Goldsboro27%

Raleigh6%

Mount Olive4%

Wilson4%

16 mi

median commute distance

126

jobs based in Mar-Mac

A commuter town

jobs vs. working residents

D−

Walkability grade: more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns

Full pageMar-Mac’s work & commute pageOpen the page

The jobs here126 jobs based here · A commuter town Where people work0% work in Mar-Mac Commute times25 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 16 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C⁻

Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Mar-Mac

71risk score of 100

FEMA risk score

Inland floodingHurricanesTornadoes

federal disasters paid out here

Full pageMar-Mac’s hazards pageOpen the page

What it facesHigh risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters1 federal disaster · Paid out in Mar-Mac Get ready1.3 events a year, on average · Ready for inland flooding

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Climate

Mar-Mac has mild winters and hot summers

Mar-Mac has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Mar-Mac’s July high is 90°F, near the North Carolina town median (89°F) and above the median of U.S. towns (85°F).

2″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter34–55°

Spring49–73°

Summer68–88°

Fall51–73°

Nov 18

typical first frost

Mar 15

typical last frost

+1.0°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pageMar-Mac’s climate pageOpen the page

A year of weatherJuly highs 90°, January lows 33°Rain & snow2″ of snow a winter · 51 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingBoth heating and cooling Then and now+1.0° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

HealthC⁺

Health in Mar-Mac trails 61% of U.S. towns

Against the 7,064 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mar-Mac’s, it is healthier than 71%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.

Mar-Mac beats the North Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 13% of Mar-Mac adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.

39%healthier than U.S. townsC⁺Health Grade

	Mar-Mac	North Carolina towns	U.S. towns
No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES)	13%	10%	8.1%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)	40%	38%	35%
Food insecurity (CDC PLACES)	19%	15%	14%
Obesity (CDC PLACES)	39%	36%	35%

32 measures vs. North Carolina

0 better25 too close to call7 worse

What stands out	Mar-Mac	NC
More adults facing food insecurity	18.6%	15.2%
More uninsured adults	12.7%	10.4%
More adults facing housing insecurity	14.8%	12.2%

UNC Health Care Wayne

7.4 mi away · emergency room

3 of 3

care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health

35th

percentile among NC towns

Full pageMar-Mac’s health reportOpen the page

Everyday habitsMore adults who get no exercise Hospitals & doctors nearby7.4 miles to an ER · UNC Health Care Wayne How adults are doingMore adults in fair or poor health Every CDC estimateBetter than NC on 0 of 32

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

HousingCost of living grade A⁻

Homes in Mar-Mac sell for about $285K

At 2.5 years of the Goldsboro metro’s $60K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 95% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $824, against $1,896 across North Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.

Mar-Mac’s median rent is $821 a month.

$285Kmedian sale price

	Mar-Mac	North Carolina towns	U.S. towns
Households that own their home	79%	67%	73%
Median rent	$821 a month	$1,086 a month	$1,185 a month

homes sold in May

Full pageMar-Mac’s housing & cost-of-living pageOpen the page

Prices over the yearsPrices over the years Years of income to buyA typical home costs 5.3 years of income Rents$821 a month · Median rent

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Mar-Mac

15pages on Mar-Mac

The big questions

SchoolsCBehind 74% of NC districts HealthC⁺Better than NC on 0 of 32 CDC measures Cost of livingA⁻Work & commuteC$54K median household income · 126 jobs here Natural hazardsC⁻FEMA risk higher than 71% of U.S. communities · inland flooding

Out and about

PlacesAttractions20 nearby · Harper House 16 mi LibraryWayne County Public Library, Inc.CollegesWayne Community College is 8 mi away

The story

Climate90° summer highs · 2″ of snow

Day to day

NewsWeatherHandbookTown SquareNeighbors

After high school

Colleges nearby

2 within 15 miles of the center of Mar-Mac

Wayne Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Goldsboro8 mi$2,566 in-state tuition University of Mount OliveUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Mount Olive8.5 mi$27,366 tuition

About 7 of every 100 Mar-Mac residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.

Prices by family income, graduation and earnings →

A commuter town

100% of working residents leave Mar-Mac for work

Where Mar-Mac’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

126jobs based in Mar-Mac

0%of working residents work in town

16 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Mar-Mac

Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States

Mar-Mac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Mar-Mac had a population of 3,184. It is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area: 4.4 sq mi

Questions about Mar-Mac

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Mar-Mac, NC a good place to live?

Mar-Mac grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #201 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades C+ for health and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.

Is Mar-Mac, NC expensive?

Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $149,000, 55% below the North Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.

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