Greensboro has plenty to offer, but the price of admission usually comes with traffic, sky-high rent, and a calendar that fills itself.
If you want the upside of Greensboro without the daily grind, the answer is almost always a good suburb. The catch: not every suburb is worth the move.
So we ranked them. Using Saturday Night Science, we pulled the numbers on every place within commuting distance of Greensboro: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
$155,385 median income · $599,278 median home price
Located in
Guilford County, North Carolina
Oak Ridge is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Greensboro area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Oak Ridge.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $155,385 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Greensboro region. And only 2.5% are out of work. Homes average more than $599,278 each.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$160,275 median income · $519,610 median home price
Located in
Guilford County, North Carolina
Summerfield is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Greensboro for 2026.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 3.9% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$95,861 median income · $307,075 median home price
Located in
Guilford County, North Carolina
Here in Gibsonville, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Greensboro metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Gibsonville.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$100,559 median income · $362,418 median home price
Swepsonville ranks as the 4th best suburb of Greensboro for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Swepsonville and the schools are some of the best around.
$121,071 median income · $386,451 median home price
Coming in as the fifth best is Stokesdale.
Stokesdale gets kudos for having the 4th most expensive homes in the Greensboro area, where houses sell for an average of $386,451. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$88,204 median income · $315,482 median home price
Pleasant Garden is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 1.9%.
According to online reports, Pleasant Garden is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Greensboro area, meaning you need to get in soon.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$83,446 median income · $319,174 median home price
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Midway.
Midway schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 23.5 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
Data | Movers
$84,773 median income · $350,880 median home price
Located in
Alamance County, North Carolina
Elon is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 3.1% of people lack insurance, good for 2nd in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$71,918 median income · $322,447 median home price
Located in
Guilford County, North Carolina
Is ‘Everything Better In Kernersville?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$88,406 median income · $400,219 median home price
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 is Wallburg.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Carolina’s statewide median.
North Carolina statewide median: $72,388
North Carolina statewide median: $336,408
North Carolina statewide median: 4.7%
North Carolina statewide median: 13.0%
On the map
Where the best Greensboro suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best suburbs around Greensboro for 2026
Figuring out the best suburbs around Greensboro was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2020-2024 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Greensboro.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 31 suburbs to evaluate around Greensboro.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 31 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Greensboro.” We’re lookin’ at you, Oak Ridge.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best Greensboro suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
The full plate
Table: Best Greensboro Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Suburb Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oak Ridge | 6.00 | 7,744 | $155,385 | $599,278 |
| 2 | Summerfield | 7.07 | 11,116 | $160,275 | $519,610 |
| 3 | Gibsonville | 7.07 | 9,467 | $95,861 | $307,075 |
| 4 | Swepsonville | 7.86 | 2,517 | $100,559 | $362,418 |
| 5 | Stokesdale | 8.43 | 6,004 | $121,071 | $386,451 |
| 6 | Pleasant Garden | 9.79 | 5,060 | $88,204 | $315,482 |
| 7 | Midway | 10.00 | 4,897 | $83,446 | $319,174 |
| 8 | Elon | 10.43 | 11,032 | $84,773 | $350,880 |
| 9 | Kernersville | 11.14 | 27,830 | $71,918 | $322,447 |
| 10 | Wallburg | 11.50 | 3,150 | $88,406 | $400,219 |
| 11 | Archdale | 12.79 | 12,087 | $64,757 | $248,494 |
| 12 | Trinity | 15.79 | 7,111 | $82,664 | $287,548 |
| 13 | Jamestown | 16.00 | 15,787 | $56,554 | $208,863 |
| 14 | High Point | 16.07 | 116,245 | $64,561 | $249,821 |
| 15 | Winston-Salem | 16.50 | 252,037 | $59,268 | $264,333 |
| 16 | Haw River | 17.07 | 2,824 | $61,058 | $299,892 |
| 17 | Wentworth | 17.71 | 2,692 | $68,500 | $225,114 |
| 18 | Walnut Cove | 17.86 | 2,115 | $44,815 | $238,799 |
| 19 | Burlington | 18.14 | 59,610 | $56,880 | $256,022 |
| 20 | Graham | 18.21 | 18,048 | $56,239 | $292,521 |
| 21 | Thomasville | 18.86 | 27,321 | $60,935 | $237,157 |
| 22 | Rural Hall | 20.00 | 3,466 | $51,054 | $274,873 |
| 23 | Randleman | 20.14 | 4,644 | $53,456 | $260,390 |
| 24 | Madison | 20.36 | 2,242 | $52,593 | $223,377 |
| 25 | Asheboro | 21.21 | 27,580 | $47,197 | $240,877 |
| 26 | Mayodan | 22.29 | 2,401 | $38,446 | $156,362 |
| 27 | Reidsville | 22.93 | 14,585 | $42,921 | $210,647 |
| 28 | Ramseur | 23.07 | 2,150 | $35,923 | $228,273 |
| 29 | Eden | 23.86 | 15,356 | $47,260 | $149,286 |
| 30 | Green Level | 23.86 | 3,230 | $55,823 | $196,092 |
| 31 | Liberty | 24.00 | 2,682 | $39,663 | $283,545 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 31 suburbs within 30 miles of Greensboro.
Summary
Summary: Welcome to the Best Greensboro ‘Burbs of 2026
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Greensboro are Oak Ridge, Summerfield, Gibsonville, Swepsonville, Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Midway, Elon, Kernersville, and Wallburg.
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Greensboro but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Suburbs Of Greensboro FAQs
What is the best suburb of Greensboro?
Oak Ridge is the best suburb of Greensboro for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Summerfield and Gibsonville are next.
What are the best suburbs of Greensboro?
The best suburbs of Greensboro are Oak Ridge, Summerfield, Gibsonville, Swepsonville, Stokesdale, Pleasant Garden, Midway, Elon, Kernersville, and Wallburg. We ranked all 31 places within commuting range.
How expensive is Oak Ridge?
The median household income in Oak Ridge is $155,385 and the median home costs $599,278. Top suburbs rarely come cheap; that is part of how they got there.
What counts as a suburb of Greensboro?
Any place within 30 miles of Greensboro qualifies. 31 towns fit that circle, and every one of them got scored.
How do you rank Greensboro suburbs?
Each suburb is scored on income, home values, density, unemployment, education, insurance coverage, and poverty, using Census American Community Survey data. The best combined score, Oak Ridge, takes the crown.
