Best PlacesWise Forks, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Wise Forks, 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.
Wise Forks ranks 30,531st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Wise Forks
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.
Wise Forks' strengths and weaknesses
Where Wise Forks ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 87% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of towns
- Cheap childcare$679 a month, better than 68% of towns
Where Wise Forks ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 17% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 22% of towns
- Short commute29.9 minutes each way, better than only 34% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Wise Forks
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wise Forks home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,357, 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 Wise Forks' effective rate of 0.68%, 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 Wise Forks
Wise Forks 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 Wise Forks.
Who works in Wise Forks, and how
Work in Wise Forks centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 96%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Wise Forks
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Wise Forks.
What the weather is like in Wise Forks, month by month
Wise Forks sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Wise Forks
The nearest airport, Albert J Ellis, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around Wise Forks
Schools across Wise Forks average a B−, better than 63% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- James W Smith ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Southwood ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
- Trenton ElementaryD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Woodington MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- West Craven MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Rochelle MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Craven Early College HighA · 75% proficient
- Lenoir County Early College HighA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wise Forks school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wise Forks 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 Wise Forks against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Wise Forks
Is Wise Forks a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wise Forks ranks 30,531st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on disaster risk and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Wise Forks expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $121,794. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $74,357 median income, cost of living beats 65% of towns.
Is Wise Forks safe?
Wise Forks is safer than 40% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
Compare Wise Forks with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wise Forks. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wise Forks 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.
Wise Forks detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wise Forks: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wise Forks: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wise Forks: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wise Forks: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wise Forks 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.