Best Places27606, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27606, 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.
27606 ranks 4,629th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 27606
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.
27606's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27606 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 91% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 27606 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,201 a month, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27606
A household needs to earn about $111,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27606 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $82,216, 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 27606's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 27606
27606 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 27606.
Who works in 27606, and how
Work in 27606 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 27606
27606 has more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 27606 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 27606, month by month
27606 sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 31° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 94° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 27606
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 9 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 27606
Schools across 27606 average an A−, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Weatherstone ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Combs ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Olds ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Davis Drive MiddleA+ · 87% proficient
- Salem MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Lufkin Road MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Wake Young Women's Leadership AcademyA+ · 84% proficient
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
- Athens Drive HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27606 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27606 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 27606 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 27606 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 71% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 24% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 27606
Is 27606 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27606 ranks 4,629th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, fast internet, and an educated workforce, and lowest on the weather and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27606 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $434,071. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $82,216 median income, cost of living beats 71% of zip codes.
Is 27606 safe?
27606 is safer than 47% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 27606?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 31. That works out to about 56 pleasant days a year, more than 3% of zip codes.
Is 27606 good for families?
Schools beat 88% of zip codes, crime safety beats 47%, and childcare runs $1,201 a month.
Compare 27606 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27606. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27606 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.
27606 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27606: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27606: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27606: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27606: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27606 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.