Everyday costs
Cost of living in the Sandhills.
Living in Moore County costs close to the national average and a little above the North Carolina average, and the biggest line item is housing. Property taxes run low for the region, utilities are ordinary, and the everyday numbers vary noticeably by town, which is why this guide breaks the county down by category.
Cost of living at a glance
93.9
Pinehurst cost-of-living index, 6.1% below the U.S. average (BestPlaces)
~$430K
Moore County median sale price (Redfin, Oct 2025)
$0.31–0.33
Moore County property tax rate per $100 assessed (NCACC)
~$161/mo
Average residential electric bill (FindEnergy)
The big picture
No big-city premium, and no bargain-basement either.
Cost-of-living indexes put the Sandhills right around the national average. BestPlaces scores Pinehurst at 93.9, which is about 6.1% below the U.S. average and about 3.2% above the North Carolina average. Salary.com lands a little differently, roughly 2% below the national average. Carthage, the county seat, comes in lower still, around 6% to 9% below the U.S. average.
The practical read: you are not paying a coastal or resort premium for most things, but you are also not living somewhere dirt cheap. Housing does most of the heavy lifting in either direction, which is why the next section matters most.
Housing
The number that drives everything.
Recent public reports put the Moore County median sale price near $430,000 (Redfin, October 2025), with median listing prices around $447,000. Inside that county number, the towns run very differently.
Pinehurst and Southern Pines carry the highest tags: town medians land roughly in the $489,000 to $575,000 range for Southern Pines and vary widely inside Pinehurst depending on the source and the segment, from the mid-$300,000s to the $500,000s. Aberdeen and the edges of Southern Pines offer more approachable entry points, and Carthage's median home value sits far lower, around $208,000 to $214,000, with median rents near $900 a month.
One cost that does not show up in a sale price: fees. Many club and resort communities carry HOA dues or membership fees on top of the mortgage. Ask for the full fee schedule before you offer, and budget it in.
Read the market updateProperty taxes
The pleasant surprise.
Moore County's property tax rate is low for the region. The county rate has run around $0.31 to $0.33 per $100 of assessed value in recent years, down from $0.485 a few years ago. That translates to an effective rate of roughly 0.57% to 0.64% of a home's value, and a median annual bill somewhere in the $1,200 to $1,700 range.
The Village of Pinehurst adds its own municipal rate on top, so a Pinehurst address carries a slightly higher combined bill than an unincorporated one. For a county that draws so many retirees, the low tax burden is a real part of the appeal.
Village of Pinehurst on tax ratesUtilities
Electric, water, and internet.
The average residential electric bill in Moore County runs around $161 a month at roughly 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, and utilities in Pinehurst sit about 3% below the national average. North Carolina's overall utility bill, combining electric, water, sewer, and trash, averages around $253 to $267 a month.
Who provides what depends on your address. Duke Energy Progress serves most of the towns; Randolph Electric and Central Electric cover rural stretches. Water and sewer come from Moore County Public Utilities, the Town of Southern Pines, or the Town of Aberdeen, again by address. Internet options include Spectrum fiber (up to 1 Gig in Pinehurst), Brightspeed, and satellite providers in more rural spots.
Groceries, transport & healthcare
The everyday line items.
Groceries
BestPlaces scores Pinehurst groceries at 95.2, about 5% below the U.S. average. Salary.com estimates roughly $396 a month for one person and about $1,287 for a family. Options run from national chains to the Sandhills Farmers Market through the season.
Transportation
This is a car county. Most daily life happens within a ten-minute circle, with retail spread across a few nodes rather than one downtown. US-1 heads north toward the Triangle, NC-211 runs south, and Fort Liberty is a manageable drive west.
Healthcare
BestPlaces gives Pinehurst a health index of 107.6, about 8% above the U.S. average. FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital anchors care in the county, and insurance costs vary by plan and provider.
What it adds up to
Budget the whole picture, not just the mortgage.
Salary.com estimates a single person needs around $2,430 a month to live in Pinehurst and a family of four around $5,350 a month. Those are estimates, not guarantees, but they are a useful sanity check on the whole monthly budget.
The honest takeaway: the Sandhills are affordable by national standards, with a genuinely low property tax bill and ordinary utilities, but housing and the lifestyle around it (golf, clubs, dining out) are where the real money goes. When you are serious about a specific street, Terry pulls the current numbers for that exact property, taxes and fees included.
Ask about a specific propertySources & notes
Figures in this guide come from public cost-of-living and market sources and vary by year and methodology. They are a starting point, not a quote. For current numbers on a specific home, ask Terry directly.
- BestPlaces, Pinehurst cost of living
- Redfin, Moore County housing market
- Salary.com, Pinehurst cost of living
- NCACC, Moore County data fact sheet
- FindEnergy, Moore County electric rates
- Village of Pinehurst, low tax rates
Want the numbers for your exact street?
County averages are a starting point. Terry pulls current sale prices, taxes, and fees for the specific homes you like, so you budget on real numbers, not estimates.
Contact Terry