Best Places27701, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27701, 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.
27701 ranks 10,323rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 27701
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.
27701's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27701 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 27701 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,197 a month, better than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27701
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27701 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,775, 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 27701's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 27701
27701 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 27701.
Who works in 27701, and how
Work in 27701 centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 27701
27701 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 27701 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 27701, month by month
27701 sees roughly 65 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 27701
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 10 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 27701
Schools across 27701 average a B−, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pearsontown ElementaryA · 71% proficient
- George Watts ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Central Park School For ChildB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rogers-herr MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- George L Carrington MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
- Lucas MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- City Of Medicine AcademyA · 78% proficient
- Durham School Of The ArtsA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27701 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27701 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 27701 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 27701 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 27701
Is 27701 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27701 ranks 10,323rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and biking, and lowest on noise 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 27701 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $505,072. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $69,775 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 27701 safe?
27701 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $596 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 27701?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 31. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of zip codes.
Is 27701 good for families?
Schools beat 68% of zip codes, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $1,197 a month.
Compare 27701 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27701. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27701 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.
27701 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27701: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27701: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27701: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27701: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27701 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.