Best PlacesSoundside, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Soundside, 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.
Soundside ranks 49,045th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Soundside
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.
Soundside's strengths and weaknesses
Where Soundside ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 91% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Cheap childcare$526 a month, better than 90% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of towns
- QuietBetter than 87% of towns
Where Soundside ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of towns
- Short commute41.5 minutes each way, better than only 4% of towns
- Household income$44,434 median, better than only 7% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Soundside
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Soundside home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $44,434; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Soundside's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 Soundside
Soundside 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 Soundside.
Who works in Soundside, and how
Work in Soundside centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Soundside
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Soundside.
What the weather is like in Soundside, month by month
Soundside sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 43° | 32° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 77° | 65° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Soundside
The nearest airport, Norfolk International, is about 63 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Soundside
Schools across Soundside average a C−, better than 23% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Tyrrell ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Columbia MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Columbia HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Soundside school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Soundside 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 Soundside against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Soundside
Is Soundside a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Soundside ranks 49,045th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, state finances, and affordable childcare, and lowest on disaster risk and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Soundside expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $192,500. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $44,434 median income, cost of living beats 7% of towns.
Is Soundside safe?
Soundside is safer than 14% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $541 per resident a year.
Compare Soundside with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Soundside. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Soundside 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.
Soundside detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Soundside: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Soundside: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Soundside: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Soundside: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Soundside 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.