A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Ayden$1,360/mo

Typical home $226K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.95% · or rent about $778/mo · Housing →

Mount Olive$750/mo

Typical home $127K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.86% · or rent about $950/mo · Housing →

The difference: $610 a month, about $7,300 a year, between Ayden and Mount Olive.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Ayden places higher on 12 of 19 NC lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every North Carolina ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

CAydenSafer than 29% of U.S. towns –Mount OliveNot graded

Schools

C+AydenBetter than 44% of districts in the state CMount OliveBetter than 28% of districts in the state

Health

C−AydenHealthier than 21% of U.S. towns DMount OliveHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns

12Ayden

6Mount Olive

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Fewest uninsuredHealth · 296 towns #150#272 Lowest property taxCost of living · 297 towns #141#52 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 297 towns #152#240 Highest graduation rateSchools · 284 towns #208#276 Fewest smokersHealth · 296 towns #189#259 Cheapest rentCost of living · 284 towns #35#94 Fastest growingGrowth · 291 towns #212#271 Shortest commuteGetting around · 297 towns #91#31

Left end = #1 in North Carolina. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Ayden’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

AydenMount Olive

Snow a year3″2″

January low33°F 32°F

July high90°F 90°F

Growing season (days)227d 226d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)57th 56th

Outdoors & history

AydenMount Olive

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land0.4%0.3%

Settled1891 —

National Register places1 5

Archive photos6 —

Community

AydenMount Olive

Library hours a week—52 hrs

Colleges in town—1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

41 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

AydenNC Mount OliveNC

Ayden ↔ Mount Olive41 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs North Carolina average

AydenMount Olive

People

Population 5,150Highest 4,453Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.9%Highest NC: +9.5% -8.5%Lowest NC: +9.5%

Median age 41.9±7.6Lowest 7% above NC 42.9±5.6Highest 10% above NC

Mount Olive and Ayden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 23.7%±6.4Highest NC: 21.8% 15.6%±4.5Lowest NC: 21.8%

Ayden and Mount Olive are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 20.8%±4.6Highest NC: 17.2% 20.7%±4.2Lowest NC: 17.2%

Ayden and Mount Olive are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 23%Highest NC: 35.7% 22.8%Lowest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.4%±2.2Lowest NC: 6.4% 13.1%±2.8Highest NC: 6.4%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $42,413±$5kLowest 41% below NC $48,700±$5kHighest 33% below NC

Mount Olive and Ayden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $182,400±$15kHighest 37% below NC $153,500±$21kLowest 47% below NC

Ayden and Mount Olive are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $778±$135Lowest 37% below NC $950±$34Highest 23% below NC

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,734Highest 9% below NC $1,313Lowest 31% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 61.3%±18.4Highest NC: 48.9% 51.5%±18.3Lowest NC: 48.9%

Ayden and Mount Olive are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 22.4%Highest NC: 13% 17.7%Lowest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 59.2%Highest NC: 66.6% 56.9%Lowest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1978Highest 13 yrs older than NC 1963Lowest 28 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minHighest 12% below NC 19 minLowest 24% below NC

Work from home 2.9%±3.3Lowest NC: 16.3% 5.5%±3.3Highest NC: 16.3%

Mount Olive and Ayden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 5.2%Lowest 14%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.8 miLowest 17.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.53Lowest 1.96Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Greenville (33%)Goldsboro (12%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Mount OliveFew work in Ayden

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.4%Highest 0.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miLowest 0.2 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 3Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 77.9Lowest 97.3Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #202 of 252 in NC #225 of 252 in NC

School district Pitt County SchoolsWayne County Public Schools

High school in town None in townNone in town

North Carolina average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Ayden neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Navigating Ayden Streets

1 neighbor in Ayden can answer.

Mount Olive neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mount Olive’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Ayden and Mount Olive

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Ayden

+ Compare

Grifton2,515 people · $153K homes

Towns like Ayden

+ Compare

Mocksville6,068 people · $241K homes

+ Compare

Wadesboro4,972 people · $153K homes

+ Compare

Rural Hall3,466 people · $190K homes

+ Compare

Newport4,441 people · $234K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks North Carolina towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Ayden vs Mount Olive

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $610 more a month in Ayden

Ayden places higher on 12 of 19 NC lists

What daily life feels like in each

41 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Navigating Ayden Streets

Set another town beside Ayden and Mount Olive

Bordering Ayden

Towns like Ayden

Post to Ayden

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