Best Places27043, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27043, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
27043 ranks 11,132nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 27043
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
27043's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27043 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 27043 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Short commute30.0 minutes each way, better than only 28% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27043
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27043 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,725, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 27043's effective rate of 0.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 27043
27043 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 27043.
Who works in 27043, and how
Work in 27043 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 27043
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 27043.
What the weather is like in 27043, month by month
27043 sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 27043
The nearest airport, Piedmont Triad International, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around 27043
Schools across 27043 average an A−, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shoals ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Mount Olive Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- King Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pilot Mountain MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Piney Grove Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Chestnut Grove Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Surry Early CollegeA+ · 90% proficient
- Stokes Early College High SchoolA · 77% proficient
- West Stokes High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27043 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27043 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 27043 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 27043
Is 27043 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27043 ranks 11,132nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and low disaster risk, and lowest on cell coverage and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27043 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $250,463. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $77,725 median income, cost of living beats 60% of zip codes.
Is 27043 safe?
Yes, 27043 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $327 per resident a year.
Compare 27043 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27043. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27043 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
27043 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27043: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27043: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27043: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27043: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27043 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.