Best Places27514, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27514, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
27514 ranks 2,198th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 27514
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.
27514's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27514 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 27514 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,360 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27514
A household needs to earn about $168,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27514 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $97,955, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 27514's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 27514
27514 runs younger 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 27514.
Who works in 27514, and how
Work in 27514 centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 47%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 24%
Life in 27514
27514 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 27514 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 27514, month by month
27514 sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 27514
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 15 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 27514
Schools across 27514 average an A, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Glenwood ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Estes Hills ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Rashkis ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Smith MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
- Phillips MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
- Culbreth MiddleA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- East Chapel Hill HighA · 78% proficient
- Cedar Ridge HighA · 71% proficient
- Chapel Hill HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27514 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27514 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 27514 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 27514 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 29% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 27514
Is 27514 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27514 ranks 2,198th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, heat safety, and population health, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27514 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $613,877. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $97,955 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 27514 safe?
27514 is safer than 22% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $516 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 27514?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 32. That works out to about 108 pleasant days a year, more than 68% of zip codes.
Is 27514 good for families?
Schools beat 92% of zip codes, crime safety beats 22%, and childcare runs $1,360 a month.
Compare 27514 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27514. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27514 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.
27514 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27514: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27514: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27514: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27514: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27514 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.