Best PlacesMariposa, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mariposa, 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.
Mariposa ranks 2,983rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Mariposa
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.
Mariposa's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mariposa ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
Where Mariposa ranks low
- Short commute32.8 minutes each way, better than only 21% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 29% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 32% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 36% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 40% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Mariposa
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mariposa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $112,612, 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 Mariposa'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 Mariposa
Mariposa runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Mariposa.
Who works in Mariposa, and how
Work in Mariposa centers on professional & technical and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Mariposa
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Mariposa.
What the weather is like in Mariposa, month by month
Mariposa sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 30° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 48° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Mariposa
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 13 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.9 million passengers in 2025, with 213 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Mariposa
Schools across Mariposa average an A−, better than 90% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Catawba Springs ElementaryA+ · 76% proficient
- Pinewood ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Barnette ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Francis Bradley MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Stanley MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Mount Holly MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Gaston Early College High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Cato Middle College High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- East Lincoln HighA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mariposa school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mariposa 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 Mariposa against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Mariposa
Is Mariposa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mariposa ranks 2,983rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, few empty homes, and tree cover, and lowest on long commutes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mariposa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $356,075. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $112,612 median income, cost of living beats 94% of towns.
Is Mariposa safe?
Mariposa is safer than 29% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $421 per resident a year.
Compare Mariposa with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mariposa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mariposa 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.
Mariposa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mariposa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mariposa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mariposa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mariposa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mariposa 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.