Best PlacesSix Forks, Raleigh, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Six Forks, Raleigh, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Six Forks, Raleigh ranks 223rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Six Forks, Raleigh
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.
Six Forks, Raleigh's strengths and weaknesses
Where Six Forks, Raleigh ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Six Forks, Raleigh ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Six Forks, Raleigh
A household needs to earn about $183,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Six Forks, Raleigh home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $138,717, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Six Forks, Raleigh's effective rate of 0.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Six Forks, Raleigh
Six Forks, Raleigh runs younger 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 Six Forks, Raleigh.
Who works in Six Forks, Raleigh, and how
Work in Six Forks, Raleigh centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Six Forks, Raleigh
Six Forks, Raleigh has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 88% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Six Forks, Raleigh and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Six Forks, Raleigh, month by month
Six Forks, Raleigh sees roughly 57 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 31° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 94° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Six Forks, Raleigh
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 8 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 7.7 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Six Forks, Raleigh
Schools across Six Forks, Raleigh average an A−, better than 93% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Root ElementaryA · 71% proficient
- Joyner ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Brooks ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Moore Square MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Oberlin MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Carroll MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Six Forks, Raleigh school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Six Forks, Raleigh 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 Six Forks, Raleigh against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Six Forks, Raleigh
Is Six Forks, Raleigh a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Six Forks, Raleigh ranks 223rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, what local pay buys, and tree cover, and lowest on the weather and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Six Forks, Raleigh expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $713,587. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $138,717 median income, cost of living beats 97% of neighborhoods.
Is Six Forks, Raleigh safe?
Yes, Six Forks, Raleigh is safer than 83% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $338 per resident a year.
Compare Six Forks, Raleigh with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Six Forks, Raleigh. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Six Forks, Raleigh 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.
Six Forks, Raleigh detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Six Forks, Raleigh: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Six Forks, Raleigh: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Six Forks, Raleigh: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Six Forks, Raleigh: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Six Forks, Raleigh 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.