Best PlacesNorth Carolina Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in North Carolina, 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.
North Carolina ranks 28th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on good schools and a strong job market. The weaker spots are walkability, cell coverage, and biking.
The best neighborhoods in North Carolina
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 North Carolina
The counties of North Carolina, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Mecklenburg County
Disaster risk is lower, incomes run higher, and big-city amenities are closer.
Rowan County, Randolph County & Lee County
Fewer homes sit empty and more households have young kids.
Buncombe County, Cabarrus County & Catawba County
Heat risk is lower.
Guilford County, Forsyth County & Durham County
It is noisier.
Wake County
Schools score lower.
Johnston County, Pitt County & Wayne County
Tree cover is thinner.
Caldwell County, Wilkes County & Surry County
Homes cost less, though local pay stretches less far.
New Hanover County, Onslow County & Brunswick County
Scores close to Caldwell County, Wilkes County & Surry County, except that more adults hold degrees here.
Cumberland County, Robeson County & Moore County
Biking is worse and crime runs higher.
North Carolina shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
North Carolina's strengths and weaknesses
North Carolina lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Good schools, a strong job market, and state finances carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Walkability, cell coverage, and biking hold the score down. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where North Carolina ranks high
- School gradeB+, better than 91% of states
- Local economyBetter than 89% of states
- State fiscal healthBetter than 89% of states
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of states
Where North Carolina ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 7% of states
- Cell coverageBetter than only 17% of states
- BikingBetter than only 19% of states
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of states
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 20% of states
What it costs to buy a home in North Carolina
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Carolina home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $81,747; 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 North Carolina's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 North Carolina
North Carolina'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 North Carolina.
Who works in North Carolina, and how
Work in North Carolina centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in North Carolina
North Carolina has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of states and less parkland per resident than most states. North Carolina has 301 miles of ocean coastline. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Carolina and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Carolina, month by month
North Carolina sees roughly 74 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° |
The best schools in and around North Carolina
Schools across North Carolina average a B+, better than 91% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Metrolina Reg Scholars AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- Quest AcademyA+ · 93% proficient
- Rea View ElementaryA+ · 91% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brown Summit MiddleA+ · 98% proficient
- The Brawley SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Mills Park MiddleA+ · 89% proficient
Top high schools
- Brunswick County Early CollegeA+ · 98% proficient
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Highland Sch Of TechnologyA+ · 97% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Carolina school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Carolina 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 North Carolina against the other 49 states.
Who North Carolina suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in North Carolina
Is North Carolina a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Carolina ranks 28th of 50 states. It scores highest on good schools, a strong job market, and state finances, and lowest on walkability and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Carolina expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $319,530. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $81,747 median income, cost of living beats 58% of states.
Is North Carolina safe?
North Carolina is safer than 29% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $446 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North Carolina?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 31. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of states.
What are the best areas in North Carolina?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Mecklenburg County, Rowan County, Randolph County & Lee County, and Buncombe County, Cabarrus County & Catawba County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is North Carolina good for families?
Schools beat 91% of states, crime safety beats 29%, and childcare runs $875 a month.
Is North Carolina good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 58% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 71% of states. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare North Carolina with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Carolina. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Carolina 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.
North Carolina detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Carolina: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Carolina: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Carolina: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Carolina: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Carolina 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.
- 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.