Best PlacesRockingham, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rockingham, 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.
Rockingham ranks 34,696th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Rockingham
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.
Rockingham's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rockingham ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of towns
- Cheap childcare$605 a month, better than 78% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 77% of towns
- Short commute23.0 minutes each way, better than 74% of towns
Where Rockingham ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Household income$53,726 median, better than only 17% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 20% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 23% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rockingham
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockingham home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,726, 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 Rockingham's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Rockingham
Rockingham's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Rockingham.
Who works in Rockingham, and how
Work in Rockingham centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Rockingham
Rockingham has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of towns and more parkland per resident than 84% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Rockingham and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Rockingham, month by month
Rockingham sees roughly 72 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 Rockingham
The nearest airport, Fayetteville Regional/Grannis Field, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rockingham
Schools across Rockingham average a B, better than 74% of towns.
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 Rockingham school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockingham 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 Rockingham against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rockingham
Is Rockingham a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockingham ranks 34,696th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, walkability, and affordable childcare, 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 Rockingham expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $155,385. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $53,726 median income, cost of living beats 20% of towns.
Is Rockingham safe?
Rockingham is safer than 11% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $661 per resident a year.
Compare Rockingham with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockingham. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockingham 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.
Rockingham detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockingham: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockingham: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockingham: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockingham: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockingham 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.