Best PlacesHarrisburg, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Harrisburg, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Harrisburg ranks 523rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Harrisburg
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.
Harrisburg's strengths and weaknesses
Where Harrisburg ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 97% of towns
- Household income$136,867 median, better than 96% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of towns
Where Harrisburg ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 22% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,019 a month, better than only 24% of towns
- Short commute28.8 minutes each way, better than only 40% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Harrisburg
A household needs to earn about $122,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Harrisburg home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $136,867, 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 Harrisburg's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 Harrisburg
Harrisburg's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Harrisburg.
Who works in Harrisburg, and how
Work in Harrisburg centers on finance & insurance and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Harrisburg
Harrisburg has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of towns and more parkland per resident than 80% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Harrisburg and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Harrisburg, month by month
Harrisburg sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 43° | 34° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 63° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Harrisburg
The nearest airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 18 miles away.
The best schools in and around Harrisburg
Schools across Harrisburg average an A, better than 97% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Harrisburg ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Hickory Ridge ElementaryA · 66% proficient
- Patriots ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hickory Ridge MiddleA+ · 77% proficient
- Harold E. Winkler MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Northridge MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Cato Middle College High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Cabarrus-kannapolis Early CollA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Harrisburg school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Harrisburg suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 27% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Harrisburg
Is Harrisburg a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Harrisburg ranks 523rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on what local pay buys, civic engagement, and good schools, and lowest on an overheated housing market and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Harrisburg expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $475,116. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $136,867 median income, cost of living beats 98% of towns.
Is Harrisburg safe?
Yes, Harrisburg is safer than 70% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $272 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Harrisburg?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 34. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 47% of towns.
Is Harrisburg good for families?
Schools beat 97% of towns, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $1,019 a month.
Compare Harrisburg with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Harrisburg. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Harrisburg 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.
Harrisburg detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Harrisburg: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Harrisburg: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Harrisburg: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Harrisburg: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Harrisburg 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.