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Gaston County · North Carolina

ZIP code 28032

Population, income, housing costs and the sales tax rate charged on purchases inside ZIP 28032 — Census 2019-2023 ACS 5-year, no modelled estimates.
Population
3,222

ZCTA residents

Median income
$74,085

Household, past 12 months

Median home
$273,900

Owner-occupied value

Sales tax
4.75%

North Carolina state rate

Quick answer

ZIP 28032 sits in Gaston County, North Carolina and is home to 3,222 people. Median household income is $74,085, the median home is worth $273,900 and median gross rent is $1,016. 75.7% of households own their home, and purchases are taxed at 4.75% (North Carolina state rate).

County
Gaston County

FIPS 37071

State
North Carolina (NC)

853 ZIPs covered

Area codes
Not published

No NANPA match for this ZIP

Metro area
Outside covered metros

Rate jurisdiction used for tax

The numbers for 28032

American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZCTA.

Population
3,222ZIP 28032 residents
Median household income
$74,085Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value
$273,900Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent
$1,016Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age
41.7 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate
75.7%Owner-occupied households

ZIP 28032 in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

ZIP 28032 is a small town in Gaston County, North Carolina, with 3,222 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #504 of 853 ranked by population — larger than 40% of them. The median age here is 41.7 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in ZIP 28032 earn a median of $74,085 a year, 5.7% below the national figure of $78,538. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 8.5% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 28032 is valued at $273,900, 9.7% below the national figure, while median gross rent runs $1,016 a month, 27.7% below the national figure, or roughly $12,192 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 16.5% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.7×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 75.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Reading ZIP 28032 in context

How 28032 sits inside Gaston County and North Carolina.

ZIP 28032 is tabulated inside Gaston County, North Carolina, one of 14 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 853 across North Carolina. Population sits in the small-town band, typically one main street plus the addresses that feed into it. County assignment on this page follows the largest share of the ZIP's land area, which matters where a delivery route crosses a county line: mail addressed to 28032 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.

Against its own county, 28032 reports a median household income of $74,085, 24% above the $59,747 county median, and 18% above the $62,646 typical NC ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $273,900, 18% above the county figure and 35% above the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $1,016 a month, which is why it reads higher than the advertised rent on a listing for the same unit.

North Carolina charges 4.75% statewide, and local governments overlapping 28032 may add county, city or special-district levies on top. We publish the state floor for this ZIP rather than guessing a combined figure, because ZIP boundaries and taxing-district boundaries were drawn for different purposes and do not line up.

Everything above comes from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZIP Code Tabulation Area, with sales tax rates traced to the state revenue agency. Five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses, so they are stable enough to compare 28032 with its neighbours but always trail the current year, and any value the Census suppressed for sample size is shown as unpublished rather than filled in with a model.

Sales tax in 28032

What a purchase inside this ZIP costs at checkout.

Rate applied
4.75%State base rate only
Tax on $100
$5Rounded to the dollar
Tax on $1,000
$48Before any exemptions

North Carolina levies 4.75% statewide, and counties, cities and special districts inside this ZIP can add their own local rate on top. Check the county page for the local component before you quote a price.

Affordability in this ZIP

Derived from the Census medians above — indicative, not an offer.

Rent burden
16%Median rent ÷ median income
Price-to-income
3.7×Home value ÷ household income
Est. mortgage
$1,421/mo20% down, 30-yr at 6.75%
Poverty rate
8.5%Residents below poverty line

A rent burden above 30% is the federal threshold for cost-burdened households, and a price-to-income multiple above 4× is generally considered a stretched housing market. The mortgage figure is principal and interest only — taxes, insurance and HOA dues are extra.

How 28032 compares

ZIP 28032 against the median ZIP in Gaston County and across North Carolina.

MeasureZIP 28032County medianState medianvs state
Median household income$74,085$59,747$62,646+18%
Median home value$273,900$231,500$203,100+35%
Median gross rent$1,016$1,124$941+8%
Population3,22214,8305,300-39%

Medians are computed across the 14 ZIP areas in Gaston County and the 853 ZIP areas in North Carolina.

Statewide rank

Where this ZIP places among all 853 North Carolina ZIP areas.

Income

richer than 71% of 766 state ZIPs

#221
Home value

above 71% of 763 state ZIPs

#219
Population

larger than 41% of 853 state ZIPs

#504

Comparable ZIP codes

North Carolina ZIP areas with almost the same household income.

ZIPCountyIncomeHome valueRent
28646Avery County$73,868$394,300—
27865Beaufort County$74,315$180,500—
28373Moore County$74,375$230,800$882
28660Iredell County$74,403$189,500$921
28382Sampson County$73,737$119,400$962
28129Stanly County$73,712$241,100$872

Nearby ZIP codes

Other ZIP codes filed under Gaston County.

Adjacent ZIP Codes

Other ZIP codes in Gaston County, North Carolina.

ZIP 28032 questions

Common questions about this ZIP code.

Where is ZIP code 28032?
ZIP 28032 lies mostly in Gaston County, North Carolina. County assignment follows the largest share of land area, so a ZIP straddling a county line is filed under its dominant county.
What sales tax do I pay in 28032?
North Carolina charges 4.75% statewide, plus any county, city or district rate that applies locally.
Is 28032 expensive to live in?
Median rent runs $1,016 a month, about 16% of median household income, and the median home is worth $273,900 — +35% against the typical North Carolina ZIP.
Is a ZCTA the same as a postal ZIP code?
Not exactly. The Census builds ZIP Code Tabulation Areas from the ZIP codes of addresses inside each census block, so a ZCTA can differ slightly from the USPS delivery route of the same number, and PO-box-only ZIPs have no ZCTA at all.

Related pages for this area.

Sources & transparency

Every figure on this page is a published estimate for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 28032, except the affordability ratios and mortgage estimate, which we derive from those medians and label as estimates.

Last reviewed December 2024. Figures are published for reference and can change; verify with the source agency before filing or contracting. How we build and check this data.