Best PlacesRowland, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rowland, 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.
Rowland ranks 48,030th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rowland
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.
Rowland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rowland ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Cheap childcare$624 a month, better than 76% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 75% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 72% of towns
- BikingBetter than 67% of towns
Where Rowland ranks low
- Household income$40,409 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rowland
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rowland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,409, 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 Rowland's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rowland
Rowland'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 Rowland.
Who works in Rowland, and how
Work in Rowland centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Rowland
Rowland has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Rowland and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Rowland, month by month
Rowland sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 44° | 32° |
| April | 79° | 64° | 49° |
| July | 94° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Rowland
The nearest airport, Fayetteville Regional/Grannis Field, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 93 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rowland
Schools across Rowland average a C+, better than 66% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Pembroke ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
- Union ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
- Deep Branch ElementaryD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pembroke MiddleC− · 28% proficient
- Lumberton JuniorC− · 27% proficient
- South Robeson Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Psrc Early College At RccA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rowland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rowland 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 Rowland against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rowland
Is Rowland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rowland ranks 48,030th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, affordable childcare, and walkability, and lowest on low incomes and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rowland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $90,340. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $40,409 median income, cost of living beats 7% of towns.
Is Rowland safe?
Rowland is safer than 8% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $667 per resident a year.
Compare Rowland with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rowland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rowland 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.
Rowland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rowland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rowland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rowland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rowland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rowland 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.