Best Places27553, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27553, 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.
27553 ranks 32,124th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 27553
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.
27553's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27553 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$644 a month, better than 81% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 66% of zip codes
Where 27553 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Household income$46,518 median, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27553
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27553 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $46,518, 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 27553's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 27553
27553's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 27553.
Who works in 27553, and how
Work in 27553 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 27553
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 27553.
What the weather is like in 27553, month by month
27553 sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 70° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 27553
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 49 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 27553
Schools across 27553 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northside ElementaryD+ · 24% proficient
- E O Young Jr ElementaryD+ · 22% proficient
- New Hope ElementaryD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Warren County MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Vance County Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Warren New Tech HighC− · 26% proficient
- Vance County High SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27553 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27553 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 27553 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 27553
Is 27553 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27553 ranks 32,124th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, affordable childcare, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on crime and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27553 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $250,515. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $46,518 median income, cost of living beats 7% of zip codes.
Is 27553 safe?
27553 is safer than 4% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $849 per resident a year.
Compare 27553 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27553. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27553 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.
27553 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27553: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27553: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27553: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27553: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27553 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.