Best PlacesWashburn, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Washburn, 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.
Washburn ranks 42,653rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Washburn
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.
Washburn's strengths and weaknesses
Where Washburn ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of towns
- Cheap childcare$684 a month, better than 68% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 67% of towns
Where Washburn ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Household income$43,393 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 11% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Washburn
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Washburn home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $43,393, 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 Washburn's effective rate of 0.87%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Washburn
Washburn 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 Washburn.
Who works in Washburn, and how
Work in Washburn centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Washburn
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Washburn.
What the weather is like in Washburn, month by month
Washburn sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 41° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Washburn
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 41 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.9 million passengers in 2025, with 213 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Washburn
Schools across Washburn average an A−, better than 90% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Union ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Burns MiddleA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Cleveland EchsA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Washburn school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Washburn 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 Washburn against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Washburn
Is Washburn a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Washburn ranks 42,653rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on a weak job market and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Washburn expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $211,300. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $43,393 median income, cost of living beats 11% of towns.
Is Washburn safe?
Washburn is safer than 15% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $529 per resident a year.
Compare Washburn with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Washburn. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Washburn 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.
Washburn detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Washburn: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Washburn: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Washburn: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Washburn: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Washburn 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.