Best PlacesCentral, Raleigh, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central, Raleigh, 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.
Central, Raleigh ranks 2,126th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Central, Raleigh
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.
Central, Raleigh's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central, Raleigh ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Central, Raleigh ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central, Raleigh
A household needs to earn about $168,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central, Raleigh home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,905, 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 Central, Raleigh's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Central, Raleigh
Central, Raleigh 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 Central, Raleigh.
Who works in Central, Raleigh, and how
Work in Central, Raleigh centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 43%
- Work from home 39%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in Central, Raleigh
Central, Raleigh has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Central, Raleigh and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central, Raleigh, month by month
Central, Raleigh 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 Central, Raleigh
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 11 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 Central, Raleigh
Schools across Central, Raleigh average an A, better than 96% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Root ElementaryA · 71% proficient
- Washington ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- The Exploris SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Salem MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Ligon MiddleA+ · 71% proficient
- Moore Square MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central, Raleigh school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central, Raleigh 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 Central, Raleigh against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central, Raleigh
Is Central, Raleigh a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central, Raleigh ranks 2,126th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, good schools, and state finances, and lowest on the weather and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central, Raleigh expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $649,627. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $65,905 median income, cost of living beats 53% of neighborhoods.
Is Central, Raleigh safe?
Central, Raleigh is safer than 5% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,264 per resident a year.
Compare Central, Raleigh with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central, Raleigh. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central, Raleigh 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.
Central, Raleigh detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central, Raleigh: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central, Raleigh: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central, Raleigh: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central, Raleigh: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central, Raleigh 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.