Best PlacesZebulon, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Zebulon, 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.
Zebulon ranks 12,329th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Zebulon
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.
Zebulon's strengths and weaknesses
Where Zebulon ranks high
- TransitBetter than 92% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of towns
- BikingBetter than 81% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of towns
Where Zebulon ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of towns
- Short commute32.9 minutes each way, better than only 20% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,062 a month, better than only 21% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 36% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 38% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Zebulon
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Zebulon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,606, 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 Zebulon's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 Zebulon
Zebulon's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Zebulon.
Who works in Zebulon, and how
Work in Zebulon centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Zebulon
Zebulon has more parkland per resident than 80% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Zebulon and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Zebulon, month by month
Zebulon sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 50, 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 | 50° | 40° | 32° |
| April | 72° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Zebulon
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 27 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 Zebulon
Schools across Zebulon average a B, better than 72% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Riverwood ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- River Dell ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
- Rolesville ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rolesville MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Archer Lodge MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- Zebulon MiddleB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Nrm Early College High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Franklin County Early CollegeA · 78% proficient
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Zebulon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Zebulon 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 Zebulon against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Zebulon suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Zebulon
Is Zebulon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Zebulon ranks 12,329th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, state finances, and fast internet, 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 Zebulon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $299,894. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $79,606 median income, cost of living beats 65% of towns.
Is Zebulon safe?
Zebulon is safer than 36% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $430 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Zebulon?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 32. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 54% of towns.
Is Zebulon good for families?
Schools beat 72% of towns, crime safety beats 36%, and childcare runs $1,062 a month.
Compare Zebulon with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Zebulon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Zebulon 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.
Zebulon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Zebulon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Zebulon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Zebulon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Zebulon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Zebulon 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.