Best PlacesMoore County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Moore County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Moore County ranks 365th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Moore County
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.
The best areas in Moore County
The parts of Moore County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Pinehurst
More adults hold degrees, crime runs lower, and more residents vote.
Pinebluff
Fewer households have young kids and tree cover is thinner.
Southern Pines
It is noisier and homes cost more.
Whispering Pines & Vass
Fewer homes sit empty and heat risk is lower.
Carthage & Cameron
Scores close to Whispering Pines & Vass, except that local pay stretches less far here.
Aberdeen
Schools score lower.
Robbins & Seven Lakes
Prices have run up less, though incomes run lower.
Moore County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 12% of the country and others in the top 6%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Moore County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Moore County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of counties
Where Moore County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 25% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Moore County
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Moore County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $88,479; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Moore County's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Moore County
Moore County runs older 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 Moore County.
Who works in Moore County, and how
Work in Moore County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Moore County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Moore County.
Is Moore County growing, and who is moving in?
Moore County has grown about 17% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Greensboro, NC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Moore County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Moore County, month by month
Moore County sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 42° | 30° |
| April | 77° | 63° | 49° |
| July | 93° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Moore County
The nearest airport, Fayetteville Regional/Grannis Field, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 57 miles away.
The best schools in and around Moore County
Schools across Moore County average an A−, better than 88% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- The Academy Of Moore CountyA+ · 80% proficient
- West End ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Pinehurst ElementaryA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Pine MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- New Century MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Crain's Creek MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Union Pines HighA− · 66% proficient
- Pinecrest HighA− · 65% proficient
- North Moore HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Moore County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Moore County 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 Moore County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Moore County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of counties and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Moore County
Is Moore County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Moore County ranks 365th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and an educated workforce, 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 Moore County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $357,148. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $88,479 median income, cost of living beats 91% of counties.
Is Moore County safe?
Yes, Moore County is safer than 80% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $312 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Moore County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 30. That works out to about 56 pleasant days a year, more than 3% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Moore County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Pinehurst, Pinebluff, and Southern Pines. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Moore County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Moore County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Moore County 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.
Moore County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Moore County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Moore County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Moore County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Moore County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Moore County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.