Greene County is a county in North Carolina, United States, on the Coastal Plain between the Neuse and Contentnea Creek drainages. It had a population of 20,451 at the 2020 census and covers 267.21 square miles (692.1 km2) centred near 35°29′N 77°41′W.
Snow Hill is the county seat, and its postal code is 28580. The county has three incorporated towns and a handful of unincorporated communities, all served from the Eastern time zone.
Towns & Villages in Greene County
Greene County has three incorporated towns — Snow Hill, Hookerton and Walstonburg — plus a small number of unincorporated communities, the largest being Jason and Maury. Places marked “Unincorp.” have no town government of their own; local services there run through the county rather than a town hall.
Snow Hill sits near the county’s centre on Contentnea Creek and holds the courthouse, county offices and the largest concentration of retail on US 258. Hookerton, on the Contentnea a few miles to the southeast, is one of the county’s oldest settlements. Walstonburg, the smallest of the three towns, lies near the Greene–Wilson county line and keeps a compact historic core of early-1900s storefronts and homes. Jason and Maury are rural crossroads communities rather than platted towns, each built around a post office, a church or two, and farmland.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snow Hill | Town · seat | — | 28580 |
| Hookerton | Town | — | 28538 |
| Walstonburg | Town | — | 27888 |
| Jason | Unincorp. | — | 28580 |
| Maury | Unincorp. | — | 28554 |
ZIP Codes
- 28580 — Snow Hill (also serves Jason and the surrounding rural area)
- 28538 — Hookerton
- 27888 — Walstonburg
- 28554 — Maury (post office box delivery only)
Most rural addresses in the county are served by the Snow Hill or Hookerton post offices rather than a dedicated ZIP of their own.
Geography
Greene County sits in the North Carolina Coastal Plain, mostly flat farmland drained by Contentnea Creek and its tributaries toward the Neuse River. The land is low-lying, with pocosin and swamp forest along the creek bottoms and open cropland on the higher ground between them. Elevations across the county stay under 150 feet, and there is no incorporated city large enough to dominate the landscape — farmland and pine woods separate the three towns and the rural crossroads communities.
Of the county’s 267.21 square miles, 266.73 square miles are land and about half a square mile is water, mostly the branches of Contentnea Creek and smaller farm ponds.
Greene County borders Pitt County to the east-northeast, Wilson County to the northwest, Wayne County to the west and Lenoir County to the south.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 20,451 residents, making Greene one of North Carolina’s smaller counties by population. Snow Hill and Hookerton are the two largest communities. Greene County is classified as economically distressed and its income levels run well below the North Carolina median of $70,804. Population density works out to roughly 77 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture anchors the local economy, with tobacco, hogs, poultry and row crops the traditional mainstays alongside county government and the public school system as major employers. Greene County Schools operates the county’s public school system, based in Snow Hill. Snow Hill hosts the county’s government offices and its small-town Main Street businesses, while Hookerton and Walstonburg remain primarily residential and agricultural.
The county is officially classified as economically distressed under the state’s annual county tier rankings, a designation that reflects its heavy reliance on farm income and its distance from larger job centers in Greenville, Kinston and Goldsboro.
History
The county was formed in 1791 from Dobbs County and originally named Glasgow County, after Secretary of State James Glasgow. Glasgow’s involvement in fraudulent military land-grant claims forced his resignation in 1798, and the county was renamed the following year to honor Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene, who led the southern Continental Army in the campaign that pushed British forces out of the Carolinas.
Like much of the surrounding Coastal Plain, Greene County’s economy and settlement pattern grew up around tobacco and row-crop farming through the 19th and 20th centuries, with its towns developing along the creek crossings and, later, the highway routes that still define the county today.
Getting There
US Routes 13, 258 and 264 and NC Routes 58, 91, 121, 123 and 903 cross the county, with Interstate 587 reaching its northern edge near Wilson.
- Greenville — about 20 miles east
- Kinston — about 20 miles south
- Goldsboro — about 25 miles west
- Wilson — about 25 miles north
The nearest commercial airport is Pitt-Greenville Airport (PGV) in neighboring Pitt County.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Greene County, North Carolina?
It is in the eastern Coastal Plain of North Carolina, between Wilson and Kinston.
What is the population of Greene County?
20,451 at the 2020 census.
How big is Greene County?
267.21 square miles (692.1 km2), of which 266.73 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Greene County?
Snow Hill is the county seat.
How many towns are in Greene County?
Three incorporated towns — Snow Hill, Hookerton and Walstonburg — plus unincorporated communities such as Jason and Maury.
What ZIP codes are in Greene County?
28580 (Snow Hill), 28538 (Hookerton), 27888 (Walstonburg) and 28554 (Maury, PO box only).
Why is it called Greene County?
It was renamed in 1799 for Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene after its original namesake, James Glasgow, was disgraced in a land-fraud scandal.
What counties border Greene County?
Pitt to the east-northeast, Wilson to the northwest, Wayne to the west and Lenoir to the south.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in North Carolina.