Sunset Park, Wilmington: homes, schools, parks and commute

Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. Sources: the City of Wilmington’s neighborhood planning areas, historic districts and parks map layers, New Hanover County’s address points, New Hanover County Schools’ School Locator, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 school test data, the Zillow Home Value Index (Zillow Research), New Hanover County’s 2025 Wave Transit map and © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Sunset Park sits on Wilmington’s south side between the Cape Fear River and Carolina Beach Road, with Greenfield Lake Park at its northern edge. It is mostly single-family houses on a grid of streets named for presidents, plus apartment complexes. On the city’s planning map it is the Sunset Park/Woodlawn planning area, about 748 acres, and OpenStreetMap names Sunset Park as a place there.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: New Hanover High for every residential address. Check an exact address with the district’s School Locator.
• Home value: $330,529 in ZIP code 28401 in August 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Nearest interstate: I-40 exit 420, where the interstate meets College Road, about 8.8 miles by road. Downtown is about 2.6 miles north.

Part of our Wilmington neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

The city’s planning map lists Sunset Park, Summer Hill, Woodlawn and Sunset South inside the planning area. The streets with the most homes, by New Hanover County’s address points, are Conley Drive, Fall Drive, West Lake Shore Drive, Pipkin Lane, Washington Street, Central Boulevard, Adams Street and Northern Boulevard. Burnett Boulevard runs along Greenfield Lake, and Carolina Beach Road and Shipyard Boulevard are the main roads through its eastern and southern parts.

The Sunset Park Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and described on the city’s historic districts layer as a residential development begun in 1914, covers 709 of the area’s residential addresses.

The county’s address points show 2,063 residential addresses: 1,342 single homes, 609 units in apartment and condo complexes, 61 in mobile home parks and 51 on vacant lots. All are in ZIP code 28401.

Schools

We checked every residential address in the planning area against the zone map behind New Hanover County Schools’ School Locator on Oct. 11, and spot-checked addresses against the district’s 2026 zone maps. Results are the share of state tests at grade level in 2025-26, from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

Statewide, 59.1% of end-of-grade tests and 59.6% of end-of-course tests were at grade level. Williston Middle is on the state’s 2025-26 low-performing schools list with a D. Each school name links to its NC School Report Card. More in our schools guide.

Home values

Zillow’s typical home value in ZIP code 28401 was $330,529 in August 2026, down 0.8% from $333,265 a year earlier, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. The index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, houses and condos together, not a sale price. The ZIP code also covers downtown and the Northside. Zillow’s figure for Wilmington as a whole was $419,038, down 0.1%. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

From the city’s parks layer, inside or at the edge of the area:

• Greenfield Lake Park and Gardens, 1739 Burnett Blvd., about 190 acres around the lake
• Greenfield Amphitheater, 1941 Amphitheatre Drive
• Legion Sports Complex, 2131 Carolina Beach Road, about 29 acres
• Godwin Stadium, 215 Shipyard Blvd.
• Cameron Park, 245 Southern Blvd.
• Sunset and Adams Park, 250 Sunset Ave.

See our parks and trails guide and walking and biking trails guide.

Getting around

• Roads: Carolina Beach Road and Shipyard Boulevard; the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge is north of the area.
• I-40: exit 420 is about 8.8 miles by road.
• Downtown and City Hall: about 2.6 miles.
• Wilmington International Airport: about 9 miles. Distances are measured on the OpenStreetMap road network with the OSRM routing engine from the middle of the area’s homes; they are distances, not drive times.
• Bus: Wave Transit routes 201 (Carolina Beach Road) and 205 (Greenfield, Shipyard) stop in the area on the county’s 2025 transit map. Check Wave Transit at 910-343-0106. More in our getting around guide.

Groceries and everyday stores

OpenStreetMap lists no supermarket or pharmacy inside the area. The nearest are a Food Lion at 2432 S. 17th St. and a CVS Pharmacy on South 17th Street, each about 0.6 miles east of the area’s edge.

How we drew this area

This page follows the Sunset Park/Woodlawn boundary on the City of Wilmington’s neighborhood planning areas map. Home counts and ZIP codes come from New Hanover County’s address points inside that boundary. Road distances and store locations use © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions

What schools is Sunset Park in Wilmington zoned for?

All 2,063 residential addresses in the city’s Sunset Park/Woodlawn planning area are zoned for Sunset Park Elementary, Williston Middle and New Hanover High, according to New Hanover County Schools’ zone map.

Is Sunset Park a historic district?

Part of it. The Sunset Park Historic District, a residential development begun in 1914 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, covers 709 of the area’s 2,063 residential addresses on the city’s map.

Is Sunset Park a good place to live?

Here are the facts. Sunset Park is a 748-acre area on Wilmington’s south side that takes in Greenfield Lake Park and Legion Sports Complex, zoned for New Hanover High. The typical home value in ZIP code 28401 was $330,529 in August 2026, according to Zillow.

What ZIP code is Sunset Park?

28401. Every residential address in the planning area is in that ZIP code, according to New Hanover County’s address records.