Best PlacesDowntown Durham, Durham, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Durham, Durham, 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.
Downtown Durham, Durham ranks 2,069th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Durham, Durham
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 Durham, Durham's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Durham, Durham ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Durham, Durham ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Durham, Durham
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Durham, Durham home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $80,373, 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 Downtown Durham, Durham's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 Downtown Durham, Durham
Downtown Durham, Durham 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 Downtown Durham, Durham.
Who works in Downtown Durham, Durham, and how
Work in Downtown Durham, Durham centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Downtown Durham, Durham
Downtown Durham, Durham has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Downtown Durham, Durham and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Durham, Durham, month by month
Downtown Durham, Durham sees roughly 58 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 Downtown Durham, Durham
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 10 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 Durham, Durham
Schools across Downtown Durham, Durham average a B−, better than 69% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- E K Powe ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Holt ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Eastway ElementaryD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rogers-herr MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Brogden MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- City Of Medicine AcademyA · 78% proficient
- Durham School Of The ArtsA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Durham, Durham school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Durham, Durham 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 Durham, Durham against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Durham, Durham
Is Downtown Durham, Durham a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Durham, Durham ranks 2,069th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and a strong job market, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Durham, Durham expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $529,743. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $80,373 median income, cost of living beats 62% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Durham, Durham safe?
Downtown Durham, Durham is safer than 34% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $624 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Durham, Durham with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Durham, Durham. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Durham, Durham 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 Durham, Durham detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Durham, Durham: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Durham, Durham: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Durham, Durham: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Durham, Durham: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Durham, Durham 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.