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Union County · North Carolina

ZIP code 28103

Population, income, housing costs and the sales tax rate charged on purchases inside ZIP 28103 — Census 2019-2023 ACS 5-year, no modelled estimates.
Population
11,058

ZCTA residents

Median income
$75,000

Household, past 12 months

Median home
$230,900

Owner-occupied value

Sales tax
4.75%

North Carolina state rate

Quick answer

ZIP 28103 sits in Union County, North Carolina and is home to 11,058 people. Median household income is $75,000, the median home is worth $230,900 and median gross rent is $1,006. 78.7% of households own their home, and purchases are taxed at 4.75% (North Carolina state rate).

County
Union County

FIPS 37179

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 28103

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

Population
11,058ZIP 28103 residents
Median household income
$75,000Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value
$230,900Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent
$1,006Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age
42.1 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate
78.7%Owner-occupied households

ZIP 28103 in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

ZIP 28103 is a mid-size town in Union County, North Carolina, with 11,058 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #290 of 853 ranked by population — larger than 66% of them. The median age here is 42.1 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in ZIP 28103 earn a median of $75,000 a year, 4.5% below the national figure of $78,538. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 7.3% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 28103 is valued at $230,900, 23.9% below the national figure, while median gross rent runs $1,006 a month, 28.4% below the national figure, or roughly $12,072 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 16.1% 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 3.1×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 78.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. 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 28103 in context

How 28103 sits inside Union County and North Carolina.

ZIP 28103 is tabulated inside Union County, North Carolina, one of 8 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 853 across North Carolina. This is a mid-sized ZIP that covers a large share of its county's addresses. 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 28103 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.

Against its own county, 28103 reports a median household income of $75,000, 8% below the $81,221 county median, and 20% above the $62,646 typical NC ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $230,900, 24% below the county figure and 14% above the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $1,006 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 28103 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 28103 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 28103

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
3.1×Home value ÷ household income
Est. mortgage
$1,198/mo20% down, 30-yr at 6.75%
Poverty rate
7.3%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 28103 compares

ZIP 28103 against the median ZIP in Union County and across North Carolina.

MeasureZIP 28103County medianState medianvs state
Median household income$75,000$81,221$62,646+20%
Median home value$230,900$302,600$203,100+14%
Median gross rent$1,006$1,313$941+7%
Population11,05831,9425,300+109%

Medians are computed across the 8 ZIP areas in Union 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 73% of 766 state ZIPs

#207
Home value

above 60% of 763 state ZIPs

#303
Population

larger than 66% of 853 state ZIPs

#290

Comparable ZIP codes

North Carolina ZIP areas with almost the same household income.

ZIPCountyIncomeHome valueRent
28787Buncombe County$75,051$379,300$1,198
28450Columbus County$74,917$266,800$983
27376Moore County$74,891$314,700$984
28582Onslow County$74,867$310,700$985
28605Watauga County$74,865$449,500$1,105
28112Union County$74,853$272,300$1,124

Nearby ZIP codes

Other ZIP codes filed under Union County.

Adjacent ZIP Codes

Other ZIP codes in Union County, North Carolina.

ZIP 28103 questions

Common questions about this ZIP code.

Where is ZIP code 28103?
ZIP 28103 lies mostly in Union 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 28103?
North Carolina charges 4.75% statewide, plus any county, city or district rate that applies locally.
Is 28103 expensive to live in?
Median rent runs $1,006 a month, about 16% of median household income, and the median home is worth $230,900 — +14% 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 28103, 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.