The 10 Best Places To Buy A House In North Carolina For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which places in North Carolina have seen home prices rising and people flocking over the past year.

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Editor’s note: This is not investment advice and we are not financial advisers. Article updated for 2022.

There's a the age old question everyone thinks about when they decide to move to a city in North Carolina:

Should I buy a place or rent? Well, we aren't here today to solve that problem for you exactly. We are just assuming you'll do the right thing and a buy a place. And while we are happy to tell you the best place to live in North Carolina, this analysis is going to tackle the question of the best place to buy a house as an investor. That is we are going to try and determine the up and coming cities in the Tar Heel State.

To do that we are going to look at places in North Carolina that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average. In every day terms, the "deals". The best deal in North Carolina at the moment? That would be Archer Lodge according to our analysis.

Here's a look at the top ten places to buy a home in North Carolina for 2022.

The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In North Carolina For 2022

  1. Archer Lodge
  2. Erwin
  3. Ayden
  4. Walke
  5. Sawmills
  6. Mocksville
  7. Williamston
  8. Wadesboro
  9. Whiteville
  10. Stokesdale

What's the best place to buy a home in North Carolina for 2022? According to our analysis, would the the ideal place to buy a home looking into the future.

The methodology that wen't into this can be a bit complicated, so we'll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below. If you're not worried about finding a deal on good places to live, check out the most expensive places to live in North Carolina and, for those of you on a budget, the cheapest places to live in North Carolina.

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In North Carolina For 2022

1. Archer Lodge

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,037
Median Home Price: $181,900
Population Change: 2.8%
Home Price Change: -0.6%
More on Archer Lodge: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Erwin

Erwin, NC

Source: Wikipedia User Dincher | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,104
Median Home Price: $92,700
Population Change: 1.4%
Home Price Change: 1.9%
More on Erwin: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

3. Ayden

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,138
Median Home Price: $127,400
Population Change: 0.1%
Home Price Change: 8.5%
More on Ayden: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Walke

Source: Public Domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,166
Median Home Price: $144,800
Population Change: 1.3%
Home Price Change: 5.2%
More on Walke: Homes For Sale | Data

5. Sawmills

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,201
Median Home Price: $114,700
Population Change: 0.7%
Home Price Change: 5.9%
More on Sawmills: Homes For Sale | Data

6. Mocksville

Mocksville, NC

Source: Wikipedia User Ceh2624 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,241
Median Home Price: $144,400
Population Change: 0.5%
Home Price Change: 2.8%
More on Mocksville: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

7. Williamston

Williamston, NC

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 5,251
Median Home Price: $87,600
Population Change: -1.1%
Home Price Change: -8.8%
More on Williamston: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

8. Wadesboro

Wadesboro, NC

Source: Wikipedia User Indy beetle | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 5,273
Median Home Price: $80,300
Population Change: -0.6%
Home Price Change: -1.0%
More on Wadesboro: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

9. Whiteville

Whiteville, NC

Source: Wikipedia User gerrydincher | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,348
Median Home Price: $108,900
Population Change: -0.7%
Home Price Change: 3.4%
More on Whiteville: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

10. Stokesdale

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,451
Median Home Price: $240,200
Population Change: 1.0%
Home Price Change: 16.9%
More on Stokesdale: Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in North Carolina for 2022?

We were in real estate for almost five years and have been working on this site for another three. Suffice is to say, we've put a lot of thought into what goes into finding a good place to buy a home.

So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we'd approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in North Carolina. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in North Carolina with undervalued homes relative to pent up demand.

Best Counties To Live In North Carolina

To do that we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2016-2020 and compared it to the previous vintage (2012-2016). Specifically, we used the following criteria:

  • Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
  • Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
  • Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It's still kinda cheap)

We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still "cheap" for North Carolina with the following caveats:

So of the 0 cities and towns in North Carolina, only 138 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.

We then ranked each place from 1 to 138 for the criteria mentioned above with 1 being the best for that criteria. We averaged the rankings to create a "best place to buy" index with the place having the lowest index being the best. You can download the data here.

Turns out that Archer Lodge is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Tar Heel State.

Read on for more on these places.

Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In North Carolina for 2022

There's our analysis of the best places to buy a house in North Carolina. And, to be clear, we aren't necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.

In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.

So if we'd could rent or buy in these cities, we'd definitely buy.

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

Home Prices By City In North Carolina

City Rank Median Home Price Population Change Home Price Increase
Archer Lodge 1 $181,900 2.8% -0.6%
Erwin 2 $92,700 1.4% 1.9%
Ayden 3 $127,400 0.1% 8.5%
Walke 4 $144,800 1.3% 5.2%
Sawmills 5 $114,700 0.7% 5.9%
Mocksville 6 $144,400 0.5% 2.8%
Williamston 7 $87,600 -1.1% -8.8%
Wadesboro 8 $80,300 -0.6% -1.0%
Whiteville 9 $108,900 -0.7% 3.4%
Stokesdale 10 $240,200 1.0% 16.9%
Nashville 11 $151,600 0.1% 10.7%
Bessemer City 12 $110,200 1.2% 1.0%
Zebulon 13 $144,600 5.7% 11.1%
Angier 14 $161,900 -2.5% 2.6%
St. James 15 $455,500 6.7% -0.2%
Cherryville 16 $136,300 1.0% 8.5%
Boiling Spring Lakes 17 $172,800 2.2% 6.5%
Carolina Beach 18 $359,800 0.9% 1.9%
Hamlet 19 $88,000 0.6% -2.9%
Trinity 20 $150,200 0.6% 5.5%
Marvin 21 $687,000 1.8% 1.4%
Woodfin 22 $244,100 1.2% 8.8%
Selma 23 $110,600 3.0% 5.1%
Oak Ridge 24 $395,100 1.1% 3.1%
King 25 $163,800 0.3% 3.7%
Unionville 26 $237,400 1.9% 10.9%
Forest City 27 $108,500 -0.1% 7.0%
Hillsborough 28 $292,800 0.7% 12.1%
Gibsonville 29 $181,400 1.5% 4.3%
Kill Devil Hills 30 $258,100 1.3% 5.0%
Mills River 31 $285,600 0.9% 10.8%
Butner 32 $160,800 0.7% 17.6%
Brevard 33 $231,800 0.2% -0.3%
Marion 34 $97,400 0.2% 9.2%
Aberdeen 35 $200,800 3.5% -0.6%
Wendell 36 $199,600 8.9% 4.3%
Rolesville 37 $331,400 6.9% 4.8%
Oak Island 38 $259,500 3.4% 1.4%
Siler City 39 $122,300 1.0% 15.4%
Black Mountain 40 $235,500 0.4% 3.9%
Fletcher 41 $232,800 2.1% 7.9%
Roxboro 42 $79,000 0.3% -5.4%
Clinton 43 $136,200 -0.3% 11.0%
Conover 44 $159,300 0.4% 8.7%
Rockingham 45 $100,600 -1.1% 3.6%
Oxford 46 $144,700 1.0% 5.5%
Pineville 47 $225,000 2.0% 2.4%
Wesley Chapel 48 $362,300 3.5% 3.9%
Morehead City 49 $255,700 0.9% 13.5%
Washington 50 $142,200 -0.4% 1.9%
Dunn 51 $135,500 0.8% 3.1%
Winterville 52 $156,800 4.3% -2.8%
Waynesville 53 $167,600 1.8% 3.6%
Mount Airy 54 $131,700 0.2% -14.3%
Tarboro 55 $131,800 -1.0% 17.6%
Kings Mountain 56 $135,300 -1.3% 9.5%
Weddington 57 $476,400 1.9% 4.0%
Lincolnton 58 $162,200 2.5% 5.5%
Summerfield 59 $362,600 1.2% 0.4%
Archdale 60 $142,100 2.0% 3.0%
Elon 61 $297,300 3.7% 17.3%
Spring Lake 62 $93,800 -0.2% -0.5%
Belmont 63 $249,500 2.0% 18.5%
Smithfield 64 $144,700 2.4% 1.8%
Davidson 65 $439,100 1.5% -2.1%
Newton 66 $120,000 0.4% 8.9%
Reidsville 67 $108,500 0.1% 4.8%
Hendersonville 68 $206,600 0.8% 9.8%
Lewisville 69 $209,000 1.2% 7.0%
Southern Pines 70 $303,500 2.3% 4.8%
Roanoke Rapids 71 $107,400 -1.2% -4.4%
Eden 72 $87,700 -0.5% 0.2%
Laurinburg 73 $105,100 -0.0% 1.8%
Henderson 74 $88,400 1.2% -11.7%
Graham 75 $146,100 1.6% 9.2%
Mebane 76 $202,900 4.1% 7.0%
Stallings 77 $268,000 1.5% 7.1%
Mount Holly 78 $184,600 2.2% 7.1%
Hope Mills 79 $138,200 1.3% 2.4%
Harrisburg 80 $304,300 1.7% 5.3%
Albemarle 81 $125,700 0.6% 5.6%
Waxhaw 82 $351,000 6.1% 6.6%
Pinehurst 83 $316,800 2.1% 8.1%
Morganton 84 $153,400 0.2% -4.2%
Knightdale 85 $223,700 5.0% 13.8%
Elizabeth City 86 $149,400 0.5% 8.4%
Lenoir 87 $110,000 0.2% -1.2%
Lexington 88 $104,600 0.6% 0.4%
Boone 89 $279,400 1.8% 4.2%
Havelock 90 $140,300 -0.8% 1.3%
Shelby 91 $132,900 0.2% 11.4%
Kinston 92 $98,200 -1.1% -3.5%
Clemmons 93 $238,200 1.3% 5.1%
Lumberton 94 $107,300 -1.1% -2.3%
Carrboro 95 $386,900 0.1% 4.9%
Leland 96 $254,400 7.9% 4.6%
Clayton 97 $200,700 6.9% 4.0%
Kernersville 98 $196,400 1.2% 8.3%
Asheboro 99 $119,700 0.1% -1.0%
Thomasville 100 $118,000 0.2% 1.0%
Download The Entire North Carolina Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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