Best PlacesRoanoke Rapids, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Roanoke Rapids, 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.
Roanoke Rapids ranks 38,380th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Roanoke Rapids
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.
Roanoke Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Roanoke Rapids ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- BikingBetter than 85% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 81% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 80% of towns
Where Roanoke Rapids ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Household income$52,900 median, better than only 16% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 20% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 25% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Roanoke Rapids
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Roanoke Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,900, 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 Roanoke Rapids' effective rate of 1.00%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Roanoke Rapids
Roanoke Rapids 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 Roanoke Rapids.
Who works in Roanoke Rapids, and how
Work in Roanoke Rapids centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Roanoke Rapids
Roanoke Rapids has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of towns and more parkland per resident than 86% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Roanoke Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Roanoke Rapids, month by month
Roanoke Rapids sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 39° | 31° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Roanoke Rapids
The nearest airport, Pitt-Greenville, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Roanoke Rapids
Schools across Roanoke Rapids average a C−, better than 28% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Manning Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Belmont Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Aurelian Springs Institute Of Global LeaC− · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chaloner Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- William R Davie Middle S.t.e.m. AcademyD− · 19% proficient
- Weldon MiddleD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Roanoke Rapids Early College HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Roanoke Rapids High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Northwest Halifax Collegiate And TechnicD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Roanoke Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Roanoke Rapids 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 Roanoke Rapids against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Roanoke Rapids suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Roanoke Rapids
Is Roanoke Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Roanoke Rapids ranks 38,380th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, state finances, and biking, and lowest on crime and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Roanoke Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,704. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $52,900 median income, cost of living beats 20% of towns.
Is Roanoke Rapids safe?
Roanoke Rapids is safer than 4% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $806 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Roanoke Rapids?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 31. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of towns.
Is Roanoke Rapids good for families?
Schools beat 28% of towns, crime safety beats 4%, and childcare runs $666 a month.
Compare Roanoke Rapids with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Roanoke Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Roanoke Rapids 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.
Roanoke Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Roanoke Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Roanoke Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Roanoke Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Roanoke Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Roanoke Rapids 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.