Best PlacesSalisbury, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Salisbury, 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.
Salisbury ranks 1,416th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Salisbury
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.
Salisbury's strengths and weaknesses
Where Salisbury ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 95% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 89% of cities
- Cheap childcare$734 a month, better than 87% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of cities
- QuietBetter than 77% of cities
Where Salisbury ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 16% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 17% of cities
- Household income$67,276 median, better than only 18% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Salisbury
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Salisbury home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,276, 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 Salisbury's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Salisbury
Salisbury'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 Salisbury.
Who works in Salisbury, and how
Work in Salisbury 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 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Salisbury
Salisbury has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of cities and more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Salisbury and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Salisbury, month by month
Salisbury sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 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° | 40° | 31° |
| April | 72° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Salisbury
The nearest airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around Salisbury
Schools across Salisbury average a C+, better than 44% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Bostian ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Millbridge ElementaryB+ · 50% proficient
- Mt Ulla ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tyro MiddleA− · 53% proficient
- South Davie MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- China Grove MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Davie County Early College HighA+ · 83% proficient
- Rowan Co Early CollegeA− · 65% proficient
- West Davidson HighB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Salisbury school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Salisbury 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 Salisbury against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Salisbury suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Salisbury
Is Salisbury a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Salisbury ranks 1,416th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and affordable childcare, and lowest on cell coverage and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Salisbury expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $250,233. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $67,276 median income, cost of living beats 29% of cities.
Is Salisbury safe?
Salisbury is safer than 40% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $403 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Salisbury?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 31. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of cities.
Is Salisbury good for families?
Schools beat 44% of cities, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $734 a month.
Compare Salisbury with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Salisbury. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Salisbury 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.
Salisbury detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Salisbury: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Salisbury: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Salisbury: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Salisbury: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Salisbury 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.