Best PlacesWest End, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West End, 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.
West End ranks 11,467th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West End
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.
West End's strengths and weaknesses
Where West End ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of towns
Where West End ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 21% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 40% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 41% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West End
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West End home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,266, 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 West End's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West End
West End runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West End.
Who works in West End, and how
Work in West End centers on health care & social and education. 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 2%
Life in West End
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West End.
What the weather is like in West End, month by month
West End sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 42° | 30° |
| April | 77° | 63° | 49° |
| July | 93° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 50° |
Flying in and out of West End
The nearest airport, Fayetteville Regional/Grannis Field, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 59 miles away.
The best schools in and around West End
Schools across West End average an A−, better than 90% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- West End ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Pinehurst ElementaryA+ · 74% proficient
- West Pine ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Pine MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- New Century MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Elise MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Union Pines HighA− · 66% proficient
- Pinecrest HighA− · 65% proficient
- North Moore HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West End school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West End 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 West End against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West End
Is West End a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West End ranks 11,467th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and health care access, and lowest on the weather and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West End expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $273,140. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $71,266 median income, cost of living beats 55% of towns.
Is West End safe?
Yes, West End is safer than 74% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $282 per resident a year.
Compare West End with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West End. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West End 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.
West End detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West End: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West End: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West End: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West End: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West End 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.