Best PlacesHillsborough, Raleigh, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hillsborough, Raleigh, 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.
Hillsborough, Raleigh ranks 1,928th 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 Hillsborough, 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.
Hillsborough, Raleigh's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hillsborough, Raleigh ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Hillsborough, Raleigh ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
- Household income$61,460 median, better than only 29% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Hillsborough, Raleigh
A household needs to earn about $159,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hillsborough, Raleigh home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,460, 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 Hillsborough, Raleigh's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Hillsborough, Raleigh
Hillsborough, 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 Hillsborough, Raleigh.
Who works in Hillsborough, Raleigh, and how
Work in Hillsborough, Raleigh centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 53%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 21%
Life in Hillsborough, Raleigh
Hillsborough, Raleigh has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hillsborough, Raleigh and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hillsborough, Raleigh, month by month
Hillsborough, Raleigh sees roughly 56 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 Hillsborough, Raleigh
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 9 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 Hillsborough, Raleigh
Schools across Hillsborough, Raleigh average an A, better than 94% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Lacy ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Combs ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Olds ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Martin MiddleA · 66% proficient
- Oberlin MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Centennial Campus MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Wake Young Women's Leadership AcademyA+ · 84% proficient
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
- Needham Broughton HighA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hillsborough, Raleigh school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hillsborough, 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 Hillsborough, Raleigh against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Hillsborough, Raleigh
Is Hillsborough, Raleigh a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hillsborough, Raleigh ranks 1,928th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the weather and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hillsborough, Raleigh expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $616,050. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $61,460 median income, cost of living beats 31% of neighborhoods.
Is Hillsborough, Raleigh safe?
Hillsborough, Raleigh is safer than 54% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $544 per resident a year.
Compare Hillsborough, Raleigh with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hillsborough, Raleigh. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hillsborough, 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.
Hillsborough, Raleigh detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hillsborough, Raleigh: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hillsborough, Raleigh: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hillsborough, Raleigh: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hillsborough, Raleigh: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hillsborough, 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.