Best Places27609, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27609, 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.
27609 ranks 2,576th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 27609
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.
27609's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27609 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 27609 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,201 a month, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27609
A household needs to earn about $142,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27609 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $104,783, 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 27609's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 27609
27609's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 27609.
Who works in 27609, and how
Work in 27609 centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 27609
27609 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 27609 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 27609, month by month
27609 sees roughly 57 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 27609
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 27609
Schools across 27609 average a B+, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Root ElementaryA · 71% proficient
- Joyner ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- North Ridge ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Moore Square MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Oberlin MiddleA · 64% proficient
- West Millbrook MiddleA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
- Sanderson HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27609 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27609 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 27609 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 27609 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 27609
Is 27609 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27609 ranks 2,576th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, transit, and biking, 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 27609 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $552,745. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $104,783 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 27609 safe?
27609 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $450 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 27609?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 31. That works out to about 57 pleasant days a year, more than 4% of zip codes.
Is 27609 good for families?
Schools beat 79% of zip codes, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $1,201 a month.
Compare 27609 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27609. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27609 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.
27609 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27609: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27609: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27609: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27609: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27609 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.