Best PlacesTimberlake, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Timberlake, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Timberlake ranks 14,660th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Timberlake
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.
Timberlake's strengths and weaknesses
Where Timberlake ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 78% of towns
Where Timberlake ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Short commute34.2 minutes each way, better than only 16% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 42% of towns
- TransitBetter than only 44% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 48% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Timberlake
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Timberlake home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,709, 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 Timberlake's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Timberlake
Timberlake runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Timberlake.
Who works in Timberlake, and how
Work in Timberlake centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Timberlake
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Timberlake.
What the weather is like in Timberlake, month by month
Timberlake sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 70° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Timberlake
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 30 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 Timberlake
Schools across Timberlake average a B, better than 69% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Lane ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Helena ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- North End ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orange MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- Southern MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Lucas MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Orange HighA− · 63% proficient
- Person HighB− · 41% proficient
- Northern HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Timberlake school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Timberlake 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 Timberlake against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Timberlake
Is Timberlake a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Timberlake ranks 14,660th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, civic engagement, and few empty homes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Timberlake expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $265,519. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $75,709 median income, cost of living beats 51% of towns.
Is Timberlake safe?
Yes, Timberlake is safer than 66% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
Compare Timberlake with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Timberlake. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Timberlake 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.
Timberlake detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Timberlake: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Timberlake: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Timberlake: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Timberlake: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Timberlake 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.