A small North Carolina city of controlled growth, community and entrepreneurship
Kinston is a small, family-focused city on the North Carolina coastal plain. The community was established in 1762 as Kingston in honor of the recently coronated King George III. But to reflect the American Revolution’s repudiation of monarchism, the “g” was dropped only 22 years later. When asked what the difference is between Kinston and nearby towns like Greenville and Goldsboro, Brooks Poole responds, “About 200,000 people.” According to Poole, who has lived mostly in Kinston since he was four, “We’re a smaller community, and we like it that way. There’s not a desire for growth like that: We want to take what we have and make it the best it can be.” He highlights the work done by the nonprofit Downtown Kinston Revitalization, from the beautification of historic buildings to the securing of grants to benefit the community. “Downtown has gone from a place I would never take my family to a place I love taking my family,” the Realtor with Walter Poole Realty says. All of this makes for a town that promotes camaraderie and entrepreneurship. “Something that’s really unique about Kinston is the community here,” says Josh Hardison, Realtor with Keller Williams Point East and longtime resident. “It’s only a quarter of the size of Greenville, so it’s impossible to go out and not see someone you know. We’re very family-oriented and attract a lot of young entrepreneurs.”
Downtown Kinston is tight-knit and evolving
Downtown Kinston features a remarkably flavorful culinary scene. The Chef and the Farmer was the subject of the PBS cooking show “A Chef’s Life,” and head chef Vivian Howard is a seven-time James Beard semi-finalist for Best Chef. The restaurant was recently rebranded as The Counter at Chef and the Farmer, where guests are treated to creative reinterpretations of Southern comfort food. Other restaurants in downtown Kinston serve Italian, Jamaican and Asian fusion dishes. Middle Grounds Coffeehouse is a popular cafe. “I’ve known the owner for six years. It’s the kind of place where everybody that goes there knows your name,” Hardison says. “It’s kind of creepy, but they even know your drink order before you place it!”
Downtown also offers a dynamic mix of boutiques, grocery stores and antique stores. “You’ve got a lot of businesses that have been around for a while, and owners who are getting up to retirement age,” Hardison says. “That gives young entrepreneurs the chance to open up the businesses they want to see in Kinston.”
The Lenoir County Farmers’ Market invites visitors to pick up fresh produce, handmade crafts, pastries and other local goods on Tuesdays and Saturdays year-round, conveniently located downtown by the Neuse River.
Kinston’s home prices appeal to commuters
The median home price sits at $210,000, which is $200,000 below the national median. “We’re centrally located between Greenville, Goldsboro and New Bern, so we get a lot of people who live here but work in one of those places. Housing prices are lower here, but values have been trending up,” Hardison says.
National-style homes and shotgun-style homes orbit closely to downtown. In historic districts such as Hill-Grainger and Trianon, buyers will find American Craftsman bungalows and Queen Annes from the 1900s through 1950s. Ranch-style homes and the occasional Colonial Revival occupy the community’s suburbs. Prices typically run from $50,000 to $400,000, with many homes in the upper range surrounding the Kinston Country Club. Townhouses go from $80,000 to $260,000.
The Kinston Regional Jetport is an employment hub
U.S. Route 70 swings by Kingston to the south, and U.S. Route 258 passes by to the west. Via U.S. 70 and other roads, Raleigh, the principal city of the Research Triangle, is an 80-mile drive west. Morehead City and other coastal destinations are a 70-mile drive down U.S. 70. Plans are underway to develop a four-lane bypass near Kinston as part of Interstate 42, though there is no timeframe on the project’s construction and completion.
Only a few miles northwest of downtown, Kinston Regional Jetport is home to the Global TransPark (GTP). “There’s just over a dozen logistics and manufacturing companies working out of the GTP, and major contractors are building out there to beef up infrastructure for the area,” Hardison says. “There’s a local charter company for private jets there called Fly Exclusive. They’re partnering up with the community college to build training facilities for pilots.” Hardison also notes that the airport’s roughly 12,000 feet runway is one of the longest on the East Coast.
While no commercial airlines operate out of Kinston Regional Jetport, Raleigh-Durham International Airport offers flights to more than 70 national and international destinations and is a 94-mile drive west via U.S. 70. Kinston does not offer public transit, though there is a Greyhound bus stop a few blocks east of downtown. UNC Health Lenoir serves as the city’s hospital.
Food and fun at BBQ Fest on the Neuse
Taking place in early May, BBQ Fest on the Neuse bills itself as “the world’s largest whole hog cookoff,” inviting residents to try carnival rides, listen to live music and eat barbecue to their hearts’ content. Every other Thursday during summers, Kinston Strong organizes the Sand in the Streets concert series. “They’ll block of streets downtown and have a local band or some other band from North Carolina come out and play,” Hardison says.
Kinston High students love basketball
The Lenoir County Public Schools district receives an overall B-minus from Niche and serves approximately 8,300 students. Through the A-rated Lenoir County Early College High School, students can graduate with an associate’s degree on top of a high school diploma. The program typically takes five years to complete. Lenoir Community College sits just south of the Neuse River and U.S. Route 70.
The subject of the documentary “Something in the Water: A Kinston Basketball Story,” the town is locally known as “Basketball Heaven.” The film reports that roughly 1 in 50 Kinston High basketball players go on to play in the NBA. According to the NCAA, that number across US high schools is closer to 1 in 5,000. C-plus-rated Kinston High’s NBA alumni include Brandon Ingram, Cedric Maxwell and Jerry Stackhouse.
Recreation and history at the Neuse River
The Kinston Parks and Recreation Department maintains more than 20 green spaces, recreation centers, gyms and stadiums. The Holloway Community Center features baseball diamonds, an outdoor pool and multi-purpose rooms, while Pearson Park’s walking trail follows the Neuse River, passing by the “CSS Neuse II," a replica of a Confederate ironclad. Artefacts from the original vessel are on display at the CSS Neuse Museum just down the road, along with other exhibits on the Civil War.
The Down East Bird Dawgs minor league baseball team, referred to locally as the Dawgs, plays out of Grainger Stadium, the second-oldest ballpark in the Carolina League. “We have five major colleges within an hour and a half of Kinston, so whatever season it is, there’s games you can see,” Poole says. Notably, the East Carolina Pirates play at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville.
Situated on the west side of town, Kinston Country Club offers 18 holes of golf plus clay tennis courts, an aquatics center and a restaurant.
Crime and climate in Kinston
According to FBI crime statistics, Kinston saw a 25% increase in violent crimes and a 15% increase in property crimes between 2023 and 2022.
Kinston experiences four distinct seasons with hot, humid summers and mild winters.
