Best PlacesSouth Wadesboro, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Wadesboro, 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.
South Wadesboro ranks 48,408th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Wadesboro
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.
South Wadesboro's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Wadesboro ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 77% of towns
Where South Wadesboro ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$34,864 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Wadesboro
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Wadesboro home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $34,864, 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 South Wadesboro's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 South Wadesboro
South Wadesboro'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 South Wadesboro.
Who works in South Wadesboro, and how
Work in South Wadesboro centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in South Wadesboro
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Wadesboro.
What the weather is like in South Wadesboro, month by month
South Wadesboro sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 62° | 50° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of South Wadesboro
The nearest airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Wadesboro
Schools across South Wadesboro average a C−, better than 22% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Wadesboro PrimaryF · 5% proficient
Top middle schools
- Anson MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Anson Co. Early College HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Wadesboro school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Wadesboro 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 South Wadesboro against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Wadesboro
Is South Wadesboro a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Wadesboro ranks 48,408th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, state finances, and few empty homes, and lowest on education levels and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Wadesboro expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,884. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $34,864 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is South Wadesboro safe?
South Wadesboro is safer than 3% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $896 per resident a year.
Compare South Wadesboro with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Wadesboro. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Wadesboro 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.
South Wadesboro detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Wadesboro: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Wadesboro: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Wadesboro: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Wadesboro: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Wadesboro 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.