Best PlacesBurch, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Burch, 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.
Burch ranks 14,380th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Burch
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.
Burch's strengths and weaknesses
Where Burch ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 74% of towns
Where Burch ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 25% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Burch
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Burch home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,803, 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 Burch's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Burch
Burch's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Burch.
Who works in Burch, and how
Work in Burch centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Burch
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Burch.
What the weather is like in Burch, month by month
Burch sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Burch
The nearest airport, Piedmont Triad International, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Burch
Schools across Burch average an A−, better than 88% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Copeland ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Elkin ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Rockford ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elkin MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Central MiddleA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Surry Early CollegeA+ · 90% proficient
- Elkin HighA · 78% proficient
- Starmount HighB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Burch school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Burch 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 Burch against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Burch
Is Burch a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Burch ranks 14,380th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, low disaster risk, and good schools, and lowest on education levels and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Burch expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $133,615. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $69,803 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is Burch safe?
Burch is safer than 42% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $355 per resident a year.
Compare Burch with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Burch. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Burch 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.
Burch detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Burch: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Burch: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Burch: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Burch: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Burch 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.