Best PlacesMiddlesex, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Middlesex, 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.
Middlesex ranks 21,742nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Middlesex
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.
Middlesex's strengths and weaknesses
Where Middlesex ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 90% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 85% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of towns
- School gradeB, better than 74% of towns
Where Middlesex ranks low
- Short commute38.0 minutes each way, better than only 8% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 20% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 28% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 32% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 32% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Middlesex
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Middlesex home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,814, 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 Middlesex's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 Middlesex
Middlesex'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 Middlesex.
Who works in Middlesex, and how
Work in Middlesex centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Middlesex
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Middlesex.
What the weather is like in Middlesex, month by month
Middlesex sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 42° | 34° |
| April | 75° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Middlesex
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 33 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 Middlesex
Schools across Middlesex average a B, better than 74% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Rock Ridge ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- River Dell ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
- Glendale-kenly ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Springfield MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Archer Lodge MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- North Johnston MiddleB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Wilson Early College AcademyA+ · 93% proficient
- Johnston Co Early College AcademyA+ · 85% proficient
- Nrm Early College High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Middlesex school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Middlesex 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 Middlesex against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Middlesex
Is Middlesex a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Middlesex ranks 21,742nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and fast internet, and lowest on long commutes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Middlesex expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $221,533. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $72,814 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is Middlesex safe?
Middlesex is safer than 32% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $454 per resident a year.
Compare Middlesex with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Middlesex. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Middlesex 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.
Middlesex detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Middlesex: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Middlesex: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Middlesex: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Middlesex: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Middlesex 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.