Best PlacesHamlet, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hamlet, 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.
Hamlet ranks 43,857th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hamlet
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.
Hamlet's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hamlet ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- TransitBetter than 90% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of towns
- Cheap childcare$605 a month, better than 78% of towns
- BikingBetter than 77% of towns
Where Hamlet ranks low
- Household income$43,531 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 12% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Hamlet
A household needs to earn about $30,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hamlet home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,531, 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 Hamlet's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hamlet
Hamlet's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hamlet.
Who works in Hamlet, and how
Work in Hamlet centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Hamlet
Hamlet has more parkland per resident than 96% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Hamlet and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hamlet, month by month
Hamlet sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Hamlet
The nearest airport, Fayetteville Regional/Grannis Field, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hamlet
Schools across Hamlet average a B, better than 76% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Fairview Heights ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- East Rockingham ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Washington Street ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hamlet MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Rockingham MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- Cordova MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Richmond Early College HighA+ · 82% proficient
- Scotland High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hamlet school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hamlet 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 Hamlet against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Hamlet
Is Hamlet a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hamlet ranks 43,857th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, transit, and walkability, and lowest on low incomes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hamlet expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $110,814. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $43,531 median income, cost of living beats 8% of towns.
Is Hamlet safe?
Hamlet is safer than 6% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $788 per resident a year.
Compare Hamlet with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hamlet. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hamlet 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.
Hamlet detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hamlet: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hamlet: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hamlet: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hamlet: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hamlet 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.