Best PlacesDowntown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, 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.
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill ranks 2,251st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
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.
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Household income$35,905 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $35,905; 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 Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill's effective rate of 1.18%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill.
Who works in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, and how
Work in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 28%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 36%
Life in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 96% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, month by month
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill sees roughly 109 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 Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 15 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 Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
Schools across Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill average an A−, better than 95% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Fpg ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Northside ElementaryB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Smith MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
- Phillips MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- East Chapel Hill HighA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill 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 Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
Is Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill ranks 2,251st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on an overheated housing market and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $136,296. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $35,905 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill safe?
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill is safer than 51% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $490 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill 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.
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill 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.