Best Places27556, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27556, 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.
27556 ranks 27,941st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 27556
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.
27556's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27556 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$688 a month, better than 76% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 73% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 69% of zip codes
Where 27556 ranks low
- School gradeD, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Household income$46,678 median, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27556
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27556 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $46,678; 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 27556's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 27556
27556 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 27556.
Who works in 27556, and how
Work in 27556 centers on information and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 27556
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 27556.
What the weather is like in 27556, month by month
27556 sees roughly 86 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 27556
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 45 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 27556
Schools across 27556 average a D, better than 7% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- E O Young Jr ElementaryD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- 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 27556 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27556 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 27556 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 27556
Is 27556 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27556 ranks 27,941st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and affordable childcare, and lowest on the schools and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27556 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $189,900. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $46,678 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 27556 safe?
27556 is safer than 21% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $497 per resident a year.
Compare 27556 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27556. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27556 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.
27556 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27556: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27556: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27556: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27556: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27556 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.