Best Places27712, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 27712, 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.
27712 ranks 3,695th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 27712
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.
27712's strengths and weaknesses
Where 27712 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 27712 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,201 a month, better than only 20% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 38% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 45% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 51% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 27712
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 27712 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $107,641, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 27712's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 27712
27712 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 27712.
Who works in 27712, and how
Work in 27712 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 27712
27712 has more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 27712 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 27712, month by month
27712 sees roughly 102 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 27712
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 16 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 27712
Schools across 27712 average a B+, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hillsborough ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Mangum ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Easley ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orange MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- George L Carrington MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
- Lucas MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- City Of Medicine AcademyA · 78% proficient
- Orange HighA− · 63% proficient
- Riverside HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 27712 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
27712 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 27712 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 27712 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 65% of zip codes and health care access beats 92%.
Common questions about living in 27712
Is 27712 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 27712 ranks 3,695th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, few empty homes, and fast internet, and lowest on crime and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 27712 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $382,733. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $107,641 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 27712 safe?
27712 is safer than 9% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $707 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 27712?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 32. That works out to about 102 pleasant days a year, more than 65% of zip codes.
Is 27712 good for families?
Schools beat 79% of zip codes, crime safety beats 9%, and childcare runs $1,201 a month.
Compare 27712 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 27712. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 27712 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.
27712 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 27712: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 27712: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 27712: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 27712: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
27712 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.