Retiring in Sandhills & Pinehurst

About Sandhills & Pinehurst

The Sandhills & Pinehurst region in this guide covers the Pinehurst and Southern Pines area of Moore County, North Carolina. It is best known for golf. Moore County Airport's own site describes the Pinehurst and Sandhills area as home to over 40 courses. Wikipedia's Pinehurst article says the village grew from a health-resort development that James Walker Tufts began in 1895 with a village plan by Frederick Law Olmsted, that the first course at Pinehurst Resort was laid out in 1897-1898, and that a large part of the central village is a National Historic Landmark District designated in 1996.

Pinehurst Resort's own pages say the U.S. Golf Association named Pinehurst No. 2 the first U.S. Open Anchor Site in September 2020, with U.S. Opens in 2024, 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047 and the U.S. Women's Open in 2029. For retirees, golf is only part of the picture. The area combines two distinct centers, Pinehurst and Southern Pines, and includes at least one well-known age-restricted community, Pinehurst Trace.

Moore County's 2025 Emergency Operations Plan gives a useful frame. The county covers about 705 square miles, has eleven municipalities, and lists a 2024 Census Bureau population of 108,417, median household income of $78,056, and 5.5 percent of residents without health coverage (2024 American Community Survey). The same plan lists Pinehurst at 18,966 residents and Southern Pines at 17,425; the plan does not state the year for the municipal figures, and the 2020 census counts reported by Wikipedia are lower (17,581 and 15,545).

Who Sandhills & Pinehurst fits

• Retirees for whom golf, or living near a golf-centered community, is a daily priority and who want many courses within a short drive.
• Buyers who prefer a village or small-town setting inside an inland county and who want to avoid the ocean-facing flood and storm-surge exposure that shapes insurance costs on the coast, while accepting that hurricane remnants, tornadoes and winter storms are still listed county hazards.
• People comfortable in an older-skewing community: Wikipedia, citing the 2020 census, gives a median age of 57.2 in Pinehurst (39.2 percent of residents 65 or older) and 44.5 in Southern Pines (28.8 percent 65 or older).
• Retirees who want the choice between a golf-village setting in Pinehurst and a downtown with an Amtrak station in Southern Pines, about 5 miles apart by NC 2 according to Wikipedia.

Who may prefer somewhere else

• Retirees who need frequent scheduled commercial flights from a nearby airport. Moore County Airport describes itself as a general aviation jetport, and Wikipedia reports that airline service ended in 2007 after earlier short-lived service, with only seasonal JSX flights that began in summer 2020.
• Retirees who want beaches or mountain scenery close to home; the county plan describes a Piedmont north and an Upper Coastal Plain south with a highest elevation of 730 feet, and neither is an ocean or mountain setting.
• Buyers who do not want to sit near a resort that hosts major championships; the championship calendar at Pinehurst runs through 2047 according to the resort.

Major tradeoffs in Sandhills & Pinehurst

• Championship weeks bring crowds. Pinehurst Resort's own pages describe U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open weeks in 2024 and 2029 and a run of other USGA championships through 2044, which is a benefit for golf fans and a traffic and lodging consideration for residents.
• Inland does not mean hazard-free. The county's emergency plan lists hurricanes, droughts and floods, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, severe winter storms, severe cold and extreme heat as potential hazards, and its disaster history includes Hurricane Florence (2018), Hurricane Matthew (2016) and Tropical Storm Chantal (July 2025).
• Homeowners insurance is rising statewide. The North Carolina Department of Insurance announced average base-rate increases of 7.5 percent on June 1, 2025 and 7.5 percent on June 1, 2026, with a maximum of 35 percent in any territory; ask an agent for the Moore County territory figure.
• Property tax is layered. County, village or town, advanced life support and fire district levies combine, and the county's last revaluation was in 2023 with the next scheduled for 2027 according to the state tax agency.

Places in Sandhills & Pinehurst

• AberdeenA railroad-founded town in southern Moore County, North Carolina, on the southern edge of the Pinehurst golf area, with a younger and more mixed age profile than Pinehurst, a 42-cent town tax rate and its own water and sewer system.
• PinehurstA village in Moore County, North Carolina, known for golf, with a planned village center, a National Historic Landmark District and a wide range of golf-oriented housing.
• SanfordA city of 30,261 (2020 census) and the seat of Lee County, North Carolina, on U.S. 1 between the Sandhills and the Triangle, with its own hospital, a city tax rate of 55.5 cents on top of a 65-cent county rate and a younger age profile than the Pinehurst area.
• Seven Lakes (Seven Lakes and West End)An unincorporated lake community in western Moore County, North Carolina, along NC 211 about 9 miles from Pinehurst, made up of separately governed North, South and West sections, with no municipal property tax and an older-than-average population.
• Southern PinesA town in Moore County, North Carolina, with a historic downtown built around an Amtrak depot, a Donald Ross golf heritage and access to the same golf, hospital and airport as neighboring Pinehurst.
• Whispering PinesA lake-centered residential village in Moore County, North Carolina, between Southern Pines and Carthage, where a village government maintains eight lakes and their dams, taxes are set at 40 cents per $100 in 2026 and the population has grown younger as military-linked families arrived.

See every place in both states

Housing in Sandhills & Pinehurst

Housing in the region is largely resale and is a mix of golf-oriented neighborhoods, older in-town streets and age-restricted communities. The county plan counts 52,037 housing units in Moore County (2024 American Community Survey) and 47,285 households. For Southern Pines, Wikipedia reports 8,364 housing units in the 2020 census, of which 12.5 percent were vacant, and 7,322 households.

The county tax office and the Moore County revaluation, last done in 2023, affect assessed values rather than sale prices. A buyer should compare recent sold listings for the specific neighborhood.

Pinehurst Trace, at 1 Mockingbird Way in Pinehurst, is listed by 55places as a 225-home, 55-plus, resale-only community with homes built between 1985 and 2017 and an approximate homeowners association dues range of $170 to $275 a month drawn from current listings. Those details are directory figures, so confirm them with the association.

Healthcare in Sandhills & Pinehurst

FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital is in Pinehurst and is named as a participating organization in Moore County's 2025 Emergency Operations Plan. Ask FirstHealth for its current services. 55places says Pinehurst Trace is less than five miles from the hospital, which is a directory estimate.

The county plan reports that 5.5 percent of Moore County residents were without health coverage in 2024. Anyone whose care depends on a particular specialty should confirm it with the health system and their plan directly. See also healthcare access across the Carolinas.

Getting around and airports: Sandhills & Pinehurst

Moore County Airport (KSOP) is at 7825 Aviation Drive, Carthage, according to its own site, and Wikipedia places it 3 miles north of Southern Pines and 5 miles northeast of Pinehurst. The airport says its single runway is 6,502 feet long and 150 feet wide and can accommodate aircraft up to a Boeing 737. It offers flight training, aircraft maintenance and charter flight services, the airfield is open 24 hours and the terminal is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and AutoChoice Rental Car is on site.

The airport calls itself a general aviation jetport. Wikipedia reports CCAir flights to Charlotte from 1991 to 2002 and seasonal Delta Connection flights to Atlanta that ended in November 2007, and notes that JSX started special seasonal summer service in 2020 in partnership with Pinehurst Resort. Scheduled airline service ended in 2007 and only seasonal service has run since, so plan on driving to a larger airport; test the drive.

Moore County's emergency plan says the county has a daily Amtrak stop in Southern Pines and lists US 1, US 15/501, NC 211, NC 73, NC 22 and NC 24/27 among its major roads. Great American Stations describes the Southern Pines depot at 235 Northwest Broad Street as a downtown station with an Amtrak waiting area and lists the Floridian as the service. Confirm schedules with Amtrak before planning around rail.

Insurance and risk in Sandhills & Pinehurst

The region is inland, without the ocean-facing storm-surge exposure that drives coastal flood insurance. The county emergency plan nevertheless lists hurricanes, droughts and floods, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, severe winter storms, severe cold and extreme heat as potential hazards, and its most recent declared disasters include Tropical Storm Chantal (incident period July 6-7, 2025, emergency declared September 11, 2025), Hurricane Florence (2018) and Hurricane Matthew (2016, including a presidential major disaster declaration). The plan describes broader floodplains and sluggish creeks in the southern, Coastal Plain part of the county and says areas in the 100-year flood plain are shown on National Flood Insurance Program maps at the Moore County Planning Department. Moore County's hazard mitigation press release says the Cape Fear Regional plan, last updated in 2020, covers floods, wildfires, tornadoes, winter storms and hurricanes and was being updated in fall 2025. See coastal hurricane and flood insurance in the Carolinas for coastal contrasts.

On cost, the North Carolina Department of Insurance said in January 2025 that the average statewide homeowners base rate would rise 7.5 percent on June 1, 2025 and 7.5 percent on June 1, 2026, with a maximum of 35 percent in any territory, and that the Rate Bureau agreed not to seek another increase before June 1, 2027. The Rate Bureau had originally asked for an average of 42.2 percent. These are statewide averages, so get a quote for a specific address.

Property tax is set by both county and municipality. The Moore County rate chart lists a county general rate of $0.29 per $100 of valuation in its 2026 column (down from $0.295 in 2025, which matches the $0.295 North Carolina's tax agency lists for 2025-26), an advanced life support rate of $0.0425 (up from $0.0375), $0.22 for the Village of Pinehurst and $0.29 for the Town of Southern Pines, plus a separate fire protection district rate of $0.0875. The Southern Pines adopted budget page confirms the town's 29-cent rate for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2026. Rates change annually; use the Moore County tax office for a specific parcel. See NC retirement taxes for state rules.

Recreation and lifestyle in Sandhills & Pinehurst

Golf is the dominant recreation. Moore County Airport's site says the Pinehurst and Sandhills area has over 40 courses, and Wikipedia adds that Golf House Pinehurst, which opened in 2024, hosts the World Golf Hall of Fame and that the Southern Pines Golf Club, one of Donald Ross's earliest courses, was founded in 1906. A 55places community page cites 23 area courses rated four stars or better by Golf Digest, which is a secondary claim.

Beyond golf, the Town of Southern Pines lists a downtown shopping district with restaurants and boutiques, the Weymouth Center and grounds, the Sunrise Theater, a library, the Arts Council of Moore County galleries in the Campbell House, and parks including a reservoir used for kayaking. The town also notes the protected red-cockaded woodpecker in the area.

55+ and active-adult communities in Sandhills & Pinehurst

The best-documented age-restricted option identified is Pinehurst Trace in Pinehurst, which 55places lists as a 55-plus community of 225 homes. Ask the association for its covenants, bylaws and current dues. See 55+ community versus conventional neighborhood.

Communities in Sandhills & Pinehurst

• Pinehurst TraceA Pinehurst subdivision of originally 232 lots, restated under covenants dated August 2020 as housing intended and operated for persons 55 or older, with a homeowners association that maintains lawns and exteriors and owns the clubhouse, pool and courts.
• Forest CreekA private 37-hole Tom Fazio golf community in Pinehurst, opened in 1996 on a 1,265-acre former family estate, with a pool, fitness center, racquet sports and village homes, estate homes and custom homesites.

Comparisons and guides for Sandhills & Pinehurst

• Aberdeen vs Pinehurst: Working Sandhills Town or Golf Village
• Pinehurst vs Southern Pines: Golf Village or Downtown Town
• Seven Lakes vs Whispering Pines: Unincorporated Lake Sections or Village With Its Own Dams
• North Carolina Retirement Taxes: Income, Property, Sales and Estate
• Healthcare Access Across the Carolinas: Hospitals, Trauma Centers and Medicare
• 55-Plus Community vs. Conventional Neighborhood in the Carolinas