Best Places27312, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27312, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
27312 ranks 3,279th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 27312
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.
27312's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27312 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 27312 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Short commute30.0 minutes each way, better than only 28% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27312
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27312 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $107,149; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 27312's effective rate of 0.66%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 27312
27312 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 27312.
Who works in 27312, and how
Work in 27312 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 27312
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 27312.
What the weather is like in 27312, month by month
27312 sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 40° | 31° |
| April | 74° | 60° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 27312
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 23 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 7.7 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 27312
Schools across 27312 average an A−, better than 84% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Chatham Grove ElementaryA · 66% proficient
- Willow Oak MontessoriA · 65% proficient
- North Chatham ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Margaret B. Pollard MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
- Horton MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Northwood HighA · 70% proficient
- Chatham Central HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Jordan Matthews HighB · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27312 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27312 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 27312 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 27312 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 27% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 27312
Is 27312 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27312 ranks 3,279th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27312 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $464,912. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $107,149 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 27312 safe?
Yes, 27312 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 27312?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 31. That works out to about 89 pleasant days a year, more than 55% of zip codes.
Is 27312 good for families?
Schools beat 84% of zip codes, crime safety beats 57%, and childcare runs $925 a month.
Compare 27312 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27312. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27312 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.
27312 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27312: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27312: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27312: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27312: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27312 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.