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%

Mount Olive$750/mo

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

Ayden$1,360/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

6Mount Olive

12Ayden

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

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

Left end = #1 in North Carolina. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Mount Olive’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

Mount OliveAyden

Snow a year2″3″

January low32°F 33°F

July high90°F 90°F

Growing season (days)226d 227d

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

Outdoors & history

Mount OliveAyden

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land0.3%0.4%

Settled—1891

National Register places5 1

Archive photos—6

Community

Mount OliveAyden

Library hours a week52 hrs —

Colleges in town1 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 1

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.

Mount OliveNC AydenNC

Mount Olive ↔ Ayden41 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

Mount OliveAyden

People

Population 4,453Lowest 5,150Highest

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

Median age 42.9±5.6Highest 10% above NC 41.9±7.6Lowest 7% 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 15.6%±4.5Lowest NC: 21.8% 23.7%±6.4Highest 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+ 20.7%±4.2Lowest NC: 17.2% 20.8%±4.6Highest 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+ 22.8%Lowest NC: 35.7% 23%Highest NC: 35.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $48,700±$5kHighest 33% below NC $42,413±$5kLowest 41% 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 $153,500±$21kLowest 47% below NC $182,400±$15kHighest 37% 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 $950±$34Highest 23% below NC $778±$135Lowest 37% below NC

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

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 51.5%±18.3Lowest NC: 48.9% 61.3%±18.4Highest 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 17.7%Lowest NC: 13% 22.4%Highest NC: 13%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 5.5%±3.3Highest NC: 16.3% 2.9%±3.3Lowest 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 14%Highest 5.2%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.3 miHighest 12.8 miLowest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in AydenFew work in Mount Olive

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.3%Lowest 0.4%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.2 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Highest 1Lowest

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

Schools

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

School district Wayne County Public SchoolsPitt County 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.

Mount Olive neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mount Olive’s Town Square.

Ayden neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Navigating Ayden Streets

1 neighbor in Ayden can answer.

Add a town

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

Towns like Mount Olive

+ Compare

Rural Hall3,466 people · $190K homes

+ Compare

North Wilkesboro4,421 people · $213K homes

+ Compare

Wadesboro4,972 people · $153K homes

+ Compare

Newport4,441 people · $234K homes

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.

Mount Olive vs Ayden

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 Mount Olive and Ayden

Towns like Mount Olive

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