Best Places27705, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27705, 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.
27705 ranks 2,705th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 27705
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.
27705's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27705 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 27705 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,213 a month, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 50% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27705
A household needs to earn about $127,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27705 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $95,756, 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 27705's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 27705
27705'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 27705.
Who works in 27705, and how
Work in 27705 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 27705
27705 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 27705 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 27705, month by month
27705 sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 27705
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 14 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 27705
Schools across 27705 average a B+, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pearsontown ElementaryA · 71% proficient
- Hillsborough ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Easley ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Smith MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
- Rogers-herr MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Orange MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- City Of Medicine AcademyA · 78% proficient
- East Chapel Hill HighA · 78% proficient
- Cedar Ridge HighA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27705 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27705 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 27705 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 27705 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 26% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 68% of zip codes and health care access beats 56%.
Common questions about living in 27705
Is 27705 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27705 ranks 2,705th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, heat safety, and state finances, 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 27705 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $483,865. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $95,756 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 27705 safe?
27705 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $476 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 27705?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 32. That works out to about 108 pleasant days a year, more than 68% of zip codes.
Is 27705 good for families?
Schools beat 83% of zip codes, crime safety beats 28%, and childcare runs $1,213 a month.
Compare 27705 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27705. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27705 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.
27705 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27705: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27705: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27705: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27705: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27705 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.