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

Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. Sources: the City of Wilmington’s neighborhood planning areas 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.

Winter Park is a midtown area built around MacMillan Avenue, just south of the UNCW campus and east of College Road, with older single-family streets and a large share of apartments. On the city’s planning map it is the Winter Park planning area, about 535 acres, and OpenStreetMap names Winter Park and Piney Woods as places there.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: John T. Hoggard High for every residential address. Elementary and middle schools are split; check an exact address with the district’s School Locator.
• Home value: $397,870 in ZIP code 28403 in August 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Nearest interstate: I-40 exit 420, where the interstate meets College Road, about 4.9 miles by road.

Part of our Wilmington neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

The city’s planning map lists Winter Park, Avondale, Homeland Heights, Oak Crest, Pine Hills, Piney Acres, Piney Woods, Stonesthrow, Woodale and Woodland Park inside the planning area. Wrightsville Avenue and Oleander Drive cross it from west to east. By New Hanover County’s address points, North MacMillan Avenue has the most homes, followed by Atlantis Court, Strickland Place, Pine Street, Wrightsville Avenue, Park Avenue and Wood Dale Drive.

The county’s address points show 1,729 residential addresses: 803 single homes, 889 units in apartment and condo complexes, 20 in mobile home parks and 17 on vacant lots. All are in ZIP code 28403.

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. College Park Elementary and Williston Middle are on the state’s 2025-26 low-performing schools list, each with a D. Isaac Bear Early College High, which admits students by application, is on MacMillan Avenue just outside the area. 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 28403 was $397,870 in August 2026, up 1.1% from $393,707 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. ZIP code 28403 also covers Forest Hills. Zillow’s figure for Wilmington as a whole was $419,038, down 0.1%. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

The city’s parks layer shows no city park inside the planning area. See our parks and trails guide and walking and biking trails guide for the nearest ones.

Getting around

• Roads: Oleander Drive (U.S. 76) and Wrightsville Avenue cross the area; College Road (U.S. 117/N.C. 132) is on its western side.
• I-40: exit 420 is about 4.9 miles by road, north on College Road.
• Downtown and City Hall: about 5.3 miles.
• Wilmington International Airport: about 9.9 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 107 (College Road), 109 (Kerr Avenue) and 206 (Oleander Drive) 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

From OpenStreetMap: Trader Joe’s, 1437 S. College Road, and Winterpark Discount Drug, 5220 Wrightsville Ave., inside the area; and beside it a CVS Pharmacy on Oleander Drive, Walgreens, 4521 Oleander Drive, Harris Teeter, 820 S. College Road, and Tidal Creek Co-op, 5329 Oleander Drive.

How we drew this area

This page follows the Winter Park 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 Winter Park in Wilmington zoned for?

All 1,729 residential addresses in the city’s Winter Park planning area are zoned for John T. Hoggard High. About three in four are zoned for College Park Elementary and Williston Middle, and about one in four for Winter Park Model Elementary and Roland-Grise Middle.

What ZIP code is Winter Park in Wilmington?

28403. Every residential address in the planning area is in that ZIP code, according to New Hanover County’s address records.

Is Winter Park a good place to live?

Here are the facts. Winter Park is a 535-acre area crossed by Wrightsville Avenue and Oleander Drive, with grocery stores and pharmacies inside or beside it, about 4.9 miles from I-40, zoned for Hoggard High. The typical home value in ZIP code 28403 was $397,870 in August 2026, according to Zillow.

Is Winter Park split between school zones?

Yes, at the elementary and middle school levels. In our check of every address, 1,290 were zoned for College Park Elementary and 439 for Winter Park Model Elementary; use the district’s School Locator for an exact address.