Wayne County, NC real estate

What the numbers say

Wayne County, NC real estate at a glance

By AstroCore · Realtor.com, US Census and Freddie Mac data

In September 2026, the median home in Wayne County listed for $289,852, down 2.3% from a year earlier. That is 28% below the North Carolina median of $400,000.

Homes spent a median of 72 days on the market, slower than 66 days a year ago. That makes Wayne County the #39 fastest-selling of 53 North Carolina counties we track.

Homeowners in Wayne County pay a median of $1,249 a year in property taxes on a median home value of $178,700, an effective rate of about 0.70%. The North Carolina average is 0.66%, which makes Wayne County the #63 lowest-tax of 100 counties in the state with published tax data.

Renters pay a median of $965 a month, and $936 for a two-bedroom. At today's prices a typical home costs about 25 times a year's rent, which generally favors renting over buying in the short term.

With 20% down and today's 7.24% average 30-year rate, the monthly payment on a $290,000 home here comes to about $1,870 including property tax and insurance. Lenders typically want that to be under 28% of income, which works out to roughly $80,000 a year (the median household here earns $59,733).