Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,728.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C−, 177th of 286 graded towns in North Carolina. A typical home there costs about $374K, 5.5 years of the Jacksonville metro’s $68K median household income. Sneads Ferry’s average trip to work is 34 minutes, above both the North Carolina town median (24 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Yopps Meeting House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Sneads Ferry’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Sneads Ferry is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1948 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Sneads Ferry is unincorporated, so Onslow 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Sneads Ferry.
Sneads Ferry carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly hurricanes), but it has commutes longer than most of North Carolina.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $540 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2018, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sneads Ferry.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 821 working residents takes 33.8 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
Most working residents leave Sneads Ferry for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Sneads Ferry grew to 274 in 2023, 67 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Jacksonville (14%), Raleigh (4%) and Wilmington (4%).
| Sneads Ferry | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $80,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Sneads Ferry has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Sneads Ferry home is worth about $374,000, up 1.4% in a year, 13% above the North Carolina typical home. 76% of Sneads Ferry households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Sneads Ferry beats the North Carolina average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 81% of adults had a checkup this year in Sneads Ferry.
| Sneads Ferry | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 80% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 24% | 25% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 25% | 23% |
| What stands out | Sneads Ferry | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.2% | 12.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sneads Ferry
About 5 of every 100 Sneads Ferry residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
CDP in North Carolina, United States
Sneads Ferry is a census-designated place (CDP) in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second largest municipality in Onslow County, behind Jacksonville and is part of the Jacksonville, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Once a rural fishing village, Sneads Ferry has experienced a surge in development since 2000. Based on U.S. Census data, the study area has grown from 5,425 residents in 2000 to approximately 9,750 residents in 2014, an 80% increase. Growth primarily has been driven by accessibility to MCB Camp Lejeune from the gate on NC 172 and expansion of the United States Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) accessed from NC 210. Sneads Ferry …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Sneads Ferry.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sneads Ferry | #177 | C− | C+ | — | B− | B |
| North Topsail Beach | — | — | D | C+ | B− | A |
North Topsail Beach has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Sneads Ferry reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Sneads Ferry with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sneads Ferry grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #177 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.