Best PlacesEast Raleigh, Raleigh, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East Raleigh, 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.
East Raleigh, Raleigh ranks 3,752nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in East Raleigh, 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.
East Raleigh, Raleigh's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Raleigh, Raleigh ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where East Raleigh, Raleigh ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Household income$54,325 median, better than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Raleigh, Raleigh
A household needs to earn about $106,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Raleigh, Raleigh home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $54,325, 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 East Raleigh, Raleigh's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 East Raleigh, Raleigh
East Raleigh, 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 East Raleigh, Raleigh.
Who works in East Raleigh, Raleigh, and how
Work in East Raleigh, Raleigh centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in East Raleigh, Raleigh
East Raleigh, Raleigh has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of East Raleigh, Raleigh and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in East Raleigh, Raleigh, month by month
East Raleigh, Raleigh sees roughly 59 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 East Raleigh, Raleigh
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 12 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 East Raleigh, Raleigh
Schools across East Raleigh, Raleigh average an A−, better than 93% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Lacy ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Hunter ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Underwood ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ligon MiddleA+ · 71% proficient
- Martin MiddleA · 66% proficient
- Oberlin MiddleA · 64% proficient
Top high schools
- Wake Early College Of Health And ScienceA+ · 88% proficient
- Enloe HighA · 77% proficient
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Raleigh, Raleigh school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East Raleigh, 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 East Raleigh, Raleigh against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in East Raleigh, Raleigh
Is East Raleigh, Raleigh a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Raleigh, Raleigh ranks 3,752nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Raleigh, Raleigh expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $416,981. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $54,325 median income, cost of living beats 30% of neighborhoods.
Is East Raleigh, Raleigh safe?
East Raleigh, Raleigh is safer than 14% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $864 per resident a year.
Compare East Raleigh, Raleigh with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Raleigh, Raleigh. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East Raleigh, 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.
East Raleigh, Raleigh detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Raleigh, Raleigh: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Raleigh, Raleigh: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Raleigh, Raleigh: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Raleigh, Raleigh: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East Raleigh, 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.