States · North Carolina · Craven County

River Bend, North Carolina.

Typical home $282,810 (+3.7% in a year). New Bern, NC metro.

What it costs per month · River Bend $1,484/mo

to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$903 (+155%) since Jan 2020.

What the home itself did
1 year
Up $10,109 +4%
$272,700$282,810 since Sep 2025
5 years
Up $85,088 +43%
$197,721$282,810 since Sep 2021

Monthly payment to buy the typical home

Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.

$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 River Bend $1,484 North Carolina $1,743 United States $1,922
$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 2002 2010 2018 2026
  • River Bend$1,484
  • North Carolina$1,743
  • United States$1,922

At the last five years' pace, a typical home here doubles in price every 10 years.

Typical home values in River Bend, NC rose 3.7% over the past year — faster than the nation's +1.2%.

Living in River Bend, Craven County, North Carolina

River Bend is a town of 2,902 people in Craven County. Half its households earn more than $71,824 a year and half less, against $65,873 across Craven County; 8% of its people live below the poverty line. 86% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 14% are rented. Unemployment in Craven County was 3.8% in August 2026, and the county had 1.1% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then manufacturing.

People 2,902 in the 2020 census; median age 53.1
Household income $71,824 the median, give or take $13,345 · Craven County: $65,873
Unemployment 3.8% Craven County, August 2026; 4.2% a year before
Homes 86% lived in by their owners; 14% rented

Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.

What it’s like

The place. River Bend is a small town where most people own the homes they live in, and the share of owners is high. Residents tend to be older than in most places, and household incomes run above the county's, with fewer people living in poverty than is common. Winters are mild, with cool days and nights that stay above freezing on average, and summers are hot, with rain spread through the year.

Work. Many residents work in schools, hospitals and social care, with manufacturing, retail and professional and business services also common. Across Craven County, some of the largest workplaces are Carolinaeast Medical Center, the Craven County Board of Education Schools and BSH Home Appliances SNB. The typical commute is short, and very few people work from home.

Things to do. Tryon Palace is a museum a short drive away, and the Masonic Temple and Theater is a theatre, also a short drive away. For time outdoors, Croatan National Forest is a protected area a longer drive away, and Brice Creek is a river a short drive away.

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  • 1,335households
  • 33%of adults have a degree
  • 8%below the poverty line
  • 17 mintypical commute
  • 3%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care22%
  • Manufacturing15%
  • Shops (retail)12%
  • Professional and business services12%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment10%
  • Transport, warehouses and utilities10%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Craven County had 40,422 jobs in 2025, 1.1% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 56° and 35°; warmest in July, 88° and 72° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° J 56° 35° F M A M J J 88° 72° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 56° and 35°; warmest in July, 88° and 72° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° J 56° 35° F M A M J J 88° 72° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 56° and lows near 35°; warmest in July, with highs near 88° and lows near 72°. About 57 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Perrytown weather station, 4 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Craven County

  1. Carolinaeast Medical CenterGeneral hospital2,533FTE
  2. Craven County Board of Education SchoolsSchool district1,596FTE
  3. BSH Home Appliances SNBDishwashing machines, household-type, manufacturing1,159
  4. Fortune Brands Home & SecurityFaucets, plumbing, manufacturing613
  5. Craven Community CollegeTwo-year college520
  6. International Paper - New Bern MillPulp manufacturing without making paper365
  7. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters333
  8. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters265

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 68 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 9,893 people in all across the county; River Bend has one of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023), school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24) and colleges from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. HurricanesVery high
  2. Winter weatherVery high
  3. LightningRelatively high
  4. Inland floodingRelatively high
  5. TornadoesRelatively moderate
  6. Strong windRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in River Bend’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Craven County and the New Bern, NC metro.

River Bend home values

Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.

$150,000 $200,000 $250,000 $300,000 $350,000 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 River Bend $282,810 North Carolina $332,159 United States $366,157
$150,000 $200,000 $250,000 $300,000 $350,000 2018 2022 2026
  • River Bend$282,810
  • North Carolina$332,159
  • United States$366,157

Sellers are cutting prices on about 1 in 3 River Bend listings — the market is cooling.

When this market ran hot

Each cell is that month's year-on-year home-value growth. Read left to right, top row is the latest year — the 2021–22 band is the boom.

JFMAMJJASOND
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
falling flat warming hot overheating runaway

Market heat, inside the city limits

Share of listings with a price cut

The early-warning dial: sellers cut when buyers stop reaching. Rising cuts cool a market months before prices notice.

15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 2025 2026 River Bend 35.32% United States 26.90%
15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 2025 2026
  • River Bend35.32%
  • United States26.90%

Homes for sale

Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.

10 20 30 40 50 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 River Bend 33
10 20 30 40 50 2018 2022 2026
  • River Bend33

New listings per month

Sellers arriving at the market.

6 7 8 2026 River Bend 6
6 7 8 2026
  • River Bend6

Zip codes with a River Bend address

A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls River Bend — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.

Zillow publishes no zip-level series with this city on the address.