Best PlacesKnightdale, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Knightdale, 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.
Knightdale ranks 638th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Knightdale
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.
Knightdale's strengths and weaknesses
Where Knightdale ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 95% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 85% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of cities
Where Knightdale ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 21% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 24% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 27% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 28% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Knightdale
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Knightdale home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $100,767, 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 Knightdale's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 Knightdale
Knightdale runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Knightdale.
Who works in Knightdale, and how
Work in Knightdale centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Knightdale
Knightdale has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of cities and more parkland per resident than 89% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Knightdale and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Knightdale, month by month
Knightdale sees roughly 69 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 Knightdale
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 18 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 Knightdale
Schools across Knightdale average a B, better than 65% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Riverwood ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Lake Myra ElementaryC · 34% proficient
- Knightdale ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Riverwood MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Archer Lodge MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- Durant Road MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
- Corinth Holders HighA− · 60% proficient
- Knightdale HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Knightdale school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Knightdale 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 Knightdale against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Knightdale suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 23% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Knightdale
Is Knightdale a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Knightdale ranks 638th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Knightdale expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $354,398. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $100,767 median income, cost of living beats 76% of cities.
Is Knightdale safe?
Knightdale is safer than 49% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $338 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Knightdale?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 31. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 24% of cities.
Is Knightdale good for families?
Schools beat 65% of cities, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $1,198 a month.
Compare Knightdale with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Knightdale. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Knightdale 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.
Knightdale detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Knightdale: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Knightdale: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Knightdale: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Knightdale: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Knightdale 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.