Wilmington tops in cost efficiency

Click here for NC Stewardship Index

A recent survey completed by a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill business professor shows Wilmington residents may be getting the biggest bang for their buck when it comes to paying for basic city services.

Wilmington ranks No. 1 in Michael Jacobs’ “N.C. Stewardship Index,” a chart that ranks the largest 25 North Carolina cities based on a system of metrics comparing their respective property tax rates, and water and sewer rates.

In a recent Raleigh News & Observer column Jacobs, a professor of finance at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and former head of corporate finance and corporate governance policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, said he devised the index to give residents comparison points to rate the effectiveness and costs of those services provided by their local governments. 

To complete the index’s findings, Jacobs calculated the effective tax rates on a home valued at $300,000. The index also calculates the city’s water and sewer rates by assuming the household consumes 10,000 gallons of water for the six cold months of the year, and 20,000 gallons of water during each of the six hotter months — for an average monthly consumption of 15,000 gallons.

According to metrics used to complete the index, an average Wilmington family pays $3,969 a year in combined property taxes and utility services. Hickory ranked second with $4,147 a year, while Asheville ranked third at $4,274.

Chapel Hill was ranked last with $7,470 in combined property taxes and utility services, according to the index.

Click here to read Jacobs’ column. 

NC Stewardship Index excerpt (Rank – City – Fixed Cost)

1 - Wilmington - $3,968.58

2 - Hickory - $4,147.08

3 - Asheville - $4,274.04

4 - Apex - $4,393.92

5 - Raleigh - $4,412.22

6 - Burlington - $4,468.68

7 - Winston Salem - $4,547.16

8 - Monroe - $4,853.16

9 - Greenville - $5,026.56

10 - Cary - $5,052.00

11 - Huntersville - $5,146.02

12 - Fayetteville - $5,155.80

13 - Goldsboro - $5,204.22

14 - Jacksonville - $5,221.56

15 - Concord - $5,381.04

16 - Kannapolis - $5,387.40

17 - Gastonia - $5,519.28

18 - Rocky Mount - $5,569.92

19 - Greensboro - $5,602.50

20 - Charlotte - $5,651.82

21 - Salisbury - $5,676.66

22 - Durham - $5,724.12

23 - Wilson - $5,801.88

24 - High Point - $5,827.08

25 - Chapel Hill - $7,470.00