Best PlacesRichmond County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Richmond County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Richmond County ranks 2,577th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The cost of living against local pay pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state finances.
The best neighborhoods in Richmond 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.
Richmond County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Richmond County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 87% of counties
- School gradeB, better than 82% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 78% of counties
- TransitBetter than 72% of counties
- Cheap childcare$605 a month, better than 72% of counties
Where Richmond County ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 9% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Household income$50,685 median, better than only 9% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Richmond County
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Richmond County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,685, 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 Richmond County's effective rate of 0.87%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Richmond County
Richmond County'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 Richmond County.
Who works in Richmond County, and how
Work in Richmond County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Richmond County
Richmond County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of counties and more parkland per resident than 67% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Richmond County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Richmond County growing, and who is moving in?
Richmond County has lost about 8% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Scotland County, NC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Richmond County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Richmond County, month by month
Richmond County sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Richmond County
The nearest airport, Fayetteville Regional/Grannis Field, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around Richmond County
Schools across Richmond County average a B, better than 82% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Fairview Heights ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Mineral Springs ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- L J Bell ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ellerbe MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Hamlet MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Rockingham MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Richmond Early College HighA+ · 82% proficient
- Richmond Senior HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Ashley Chapel Educational CenterD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Richmond County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Richmond 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 Richmond County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Richmond County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Richmond County
Is Richmond County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Richmond County ranks 2,577th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Richmond County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,611. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $50,685 median income, cost of living beats 9% of counties.
Is Richmond County safe?
Richmond County is safer than 9% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $662 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Richmond County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 35. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of counties.
Is Richmond County good for families?
Schools beat 82% of counties, crime safety beats 9%, and childcare runs $605 a month.
Compare Richmond County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Richmond County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Richmond 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.
Richmond County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Richmond County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Richmond County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Richmond County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Richmond County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Richmond 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.