Best PlacesClayton, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Clayton, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Clayton ranks 448th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Clayton
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.
Clayton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clayton ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 95% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of cities
- QuietBetter than 89% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of cities
Where Clayton ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 10% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Short commute31.4 minutes each way, better than only 17% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Clayton
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clayton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $101,822, 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 Clayton's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clayton
Clayton runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Clayton.
Who works in Clayton, and how
Work in Clayton centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Clayton
Clayton has more parkland per resident than 85% of cities and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Clayton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Clayton, month by month
Clayton sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 42° | 34° |
| April | 75° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Clayton
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 26 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 Clayton
Schools across Clayton average a B+, better than 82% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Johnston Charter AcademyA · 69% proficient
- Riverwood ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- River Dell ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cleveland MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Riverwood MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Archer Lodge MiddleA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Johnston Co Early College AcademyA+ · 85% proficient
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
- Cleveland HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clayton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clayton 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 Clayton against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Clayton suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 78% of cities and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Clayton
Is Clayton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clayton ranks 448th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a strong job market, state finances, and civic engagement, and lowest on cell coverage and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clayton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $348,693. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $101,822 median income, cost of living beats 78% of cities.
Is Clayton safe?
Yes, Clayton is safer than 82% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $258 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Clayton?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 34. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 34% of cities.
Is Clayton good for families?
Schools beat 82% of cities, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $894 a month.
Compare Clayton with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clayton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clayton 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.
Clayton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clayton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clayton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clayton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clayton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clayton 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.