This report presents data generated from samples of water, sediment, and biota collected in the Neuse River, NC during the summer of 1998. The sampling effort is part of a joint study, initiated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), to assess the health of southeastern estuaries by coordinating two nationwide environmental monitoring efforts: NOAA’s National Status and Trends program (NS&T) and U.S. EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). The joint coastal research and monitoring program retains the EMAP sampling design, which includes randomly selected sites distributed over various biogeographical provinces of the U.S. The probability-based sampling design makes it possible to assess the status of selected indicators of ecological health on a regional basis with known confidence.