Best PlacesChowan County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Chowan County, 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.
Chowan County ranks 2,269th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. An overheated housing market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on a strong job market.
The best neighborhoods in Chowan County
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.
Chowan County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chowan County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 89% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 87% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 83% of counties
Where Chowan County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Chowan County
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chowan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $63,554; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Chowan County's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 Chowan County
Chowan County runs older 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 Chowan County.
Who works in Chowan County, and how
Work in Chowan County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Chowan County
Chowan County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Chowan County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Chowan County growing, and who is moving in?
Chowan County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Los Angeles, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Chowan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Chowan County, month by month
Chowan County sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 45° | 37° |
| April | 74° | 63° | 54° |
| July | 90° | 82° | 75° |
| October | 76° | 66° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Chowan County
The nearest airport, Pitt-Greenville, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chowan County
Schools across Chowan County average a B−, better than 64% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- D F Walker ElementaryB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chowan MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- John A Holmes HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chowan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chowan County 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 Chowan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Chowan County
Is Chowan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chowan County ranks 2,269th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, state finances, and clean air, and lowest on an overheated housing market and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chowan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $257,711. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $63,554 median income, cost of living beats 39% of counties.
Is Chowan County safe?
Chowan County is safer than 16% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $584 per resident a year.
Compare Chowan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chowan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chowan County 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.
Chowan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chowan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chowan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chowan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chowan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chowan County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.