Are you sick of being a city slicker?
Do you long for life in suburban North Carolina? Where you can drive an overly-large vehicle to the store for groceries and schlep the kids around to practices and appointments without worrying about a parking space.
We do, too.
If you wanted to move out to the suburbs in North Carolina, where would you go? And how would you decide on the ranking factors to help you pick which North Carolina suburb was best?
No worries. We got it all figured out here using Saturday Night Science.
$166,556 median income · $655,968 median home price
Located in
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Davidson is a lakeside town on Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 10,944 at the 2010 census. It is home to Davidson College. The town is centered on the college from which it takes its name.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$134,905 median income · $626,396 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Cary is the seventh-largest municipality in North Carolina. Cary is predominantly in Wake, with a small area in Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the county’s second-largest municipality and the third-largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham. The town’s population was 135,234 as of the 2010 census, making it the largest town and seventh-largest municipality statewide. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town’s population to be 159,769 as of July 1, 2015. Cary is the second most populous incorporated town in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$125,396 median income · $480,926 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Morrisville is a town located in both Wake and Durham counties of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 18,576 at the 2010 census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town’s population to be 21,932 as of July 1, 2013. Morrisville is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. The regional name originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located midway between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The Research Triangle region encompasses the U.S. Census Bureau’s Combined Statistical Area of Raleigh-Durham-Cary. The estimated population of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary CSA was 1,565,223 as of July 1, 2006, with the Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area portion estimated at 994,551 residents. The U.S. headquarters of Chinese multinational Lenovo are located in the municipal limits.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$113,767 median income · $527,117 median home price
Located in
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Cornelius is a lakeside town located along Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 24,866 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$126,450 median income · $529,288 median home price
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$109,802 median income · $535,650 median home price
Located in
Moore County, North Carolina
Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,124. It is home of the historic golf resort, Pinehurst Resort. A large portion of the central village, including the resort complexes, is a National Historic Landmark District, designated in 1996 for its landscape design and its significance in the history of golf in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$144,135 median income · $599,085 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Apex is a town in Wake County, North Carolina and a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town’s population to be 43,907 as of July 1, 2014.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$120,516 median income · $550,755 median home price
Located in
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$149,565 median income · $497,996 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Rolesville is a town and suburb in northeastern Wake County, North Carolina, United States, just outside the capital city of Raleigh. It is the second oldest town in Wake County and has been one of the fastest growing towns in the state of North Carolina for the past several years. The population was 6,074 in 2015.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$123,802 median income · $512,161 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Wake Forest is a town in Franklin and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina; located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. The population was 30,117 at the 2010 census, up from 12,588 at the 2000 census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city’s population to be 34,752 as of July 1, 2013. In 2007, the town was listed by Forbes magazine as the 20th fastest growing suburb in America, with a 73.2 percent increase in population between 2000 and 2006. Wake Forest was the original home of Wake Forest University for 122 years before it moved to Winston-Salem in 1956.
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
On the map
Where North Carolina’s best suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we crunched the suburb numbers for the Tar Heel State
We have to use Saturday Night Science and look at several metrics to give you the best suburbs in North Carolina. We want to measure the type of place around major cities that people arguing at a bar would say makes it the “best suburb.”
First, we had to define a suburb. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of North Carolina, we looked at every town with at least 5,000 residents, and within 30 miles of a city that’s over 200,000 people.
In other words, suburbs.
We paid particular attention to the following criteria:
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Population Density (Higher is Better)
- Unemployment Rates
- Commute Time
- Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We ranked each suburb in North Carolina across these criteria from one to 78, with one being the best.
We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the town posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Suburb To Live In North Carolina.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and ideal places to live in North Carolina.
Read on to see why Davidson is the ‘burb with the most, while Roxboro is probably not the best place to live in North Carolina.
The full plate
The Best Suburbs In North Carolina
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davidson | 15,660 | $166,556 | $655,968 |
| 2 | Cary | 179,306 | $134,905 | $626,396 |
| 3 | Morrisville | 31,422 | $125,396 | $480,926 |
| 4 | Cornelius | 32,783 | $113,767 | $527,117 |
| 5 | Whispering Pines | 5,211 | $126,450 | $529,288 |
| 6 | Pinehurst | 18,256 | $109,802 | $535,650 |
| 7 | Apex | 70,630 | $144,135 | $599,085 |
| 8 | Huntersville | 63,969 | $120,516 | $550,755 |
| 9 | Rolesville | 10,766 | $149,565 | $497,996 |
| 10 | Wake Forest | 52,844 | $123,802 | $512,161 |
| 11 | Fuquay-Varina | 40,485 | $115,497 | $525,746 |
| 12 | Matthews | 30,577 | $108,611 | $501,848 |
| 13 | Oak Ridge | 7,744 | $155,385 | $599,278 |
| 14 | Gibsonville | 9,467 | $95,861 | $307,075 |
| 15 | Waxhaw | 22,275 | $131,894 | $628,812 |
| 16 | Stallings | 16,886 | $115,974 | $461,633 |
| 17 | Knightdale | 20,214 | $103,220 | $370,204 |
| 18 | Harrisburg | 19,633 | $148,254 | $494,884 |
| 19 | Elon | 11,032 | $84,773 | $350,880 |
| 20 | Chapel Hill | 61,607 | $85,989 | $631,167 |
| 21 | Carrboro | 21,204 | $85,743 | $429,675 |
| 22 | Holly Springs | 45,248 | $135,578 | $579,090 |
| 23 | Weddington | 13,805 | $190,766 | $1,074,644 |
| 24 | Mooresville | 52,381 | $89,647 | $482,315 |
| 25 | Wendell | 13,064 | $95,787 | $369,603 |
| 26 | Cramerton | 5,450 | $82,160 | $305,443 |
| 27 | Archdale | 12,087 | $64,757 | $248,494 |
| 28 | King | 7,408 | $57,817 | $276,086 |
| 29 | Summerfield | 11,116 | $160,275 | $519,610 |
| 30 | Marvin | 6,692 | $250,001 | $1,251,047 |
| 31 | Hillsborough | 9,724 | $98,163 | $472,962 |
| 32 | Clayton | 29,320 | $78,822 | $364,742 |
| 33 | Belmont | 15,546 | $94,883 | $432,565 |
| 34 | Mint Hill | 27,556 | $100,860 | $513,193 |
| 35 | Clemmons | 21,871 | $87,655 | $387,814 |
| 36 | Stokesdale | 6,004 | $121,071 | $386,451 |
| 37 | Kernersville | 27,830 | $71,918 | $322,447 |
| 38 | Lewisville | 13,828 | $100,917 | $404,564 |
| 39 | Southern Pines | 16,420 | $88,535 | $456,116 |
| 40 | Mount Holly | 18,208 | $79,385 | $360,773 |
| 41 | Indian Trail | 42,036 | $108,483 | $419,103 |
| 42 | Concord | 108,719 | $86,921 | $382,592 |
| 43 | Wesley Chapel | 9,090 | $132,188 | $659,096 |
| 44 | Mebane | 19,538 | $83,174 | $353,221 |
| 45 | Pleasant Garden | 5,060 | $88,204 | $315,482 |
| 46 | Kannapolis | 57,890 | $73,836 | $279,708 |
| 47 | Garner | 34,473 | $78,756 | $384,100 |
| 48 | Locust | 5,840 | $76,504 | $384,686 |
| 49 | Aberdeen | 9,228 | $75,078 | $352,796 |
| 50 | Dallas | 6,104 | $58,403 | $273,282 |
| 51 | Angier | 6,241 | $52,214 | $333,903 |
| 52 | High Point | 116,245 | $64,561 | $249,821 |
| 53 | Trinity | 7,111 | $82,664 | $287,548 |
| 54 | Unionville | 6,954 | $96,028 | $419,701 |
| 55 | Thomasville | 27,321 | $60,935 | $237,157 |
| 56 | Archer Lodge | 5,186 | $91,188 | $377,862 |
| 57 | Mocksville | 6,068 | $55,367 | $280,268 |
| 58 | Hope Mills | 17,939 | $65,774 | $263,454 |
| 59 | Pineville | 11,055 | $69,354 | $403,663 |
| 60 | Lincolnton | 11,783 | $46,320 | $296,022 |
| 61 | Graham | 18,048 | $56,239 | $292,521 |
| 62 | Butner | 8,065 | $74,739 | $273,631 |
| 63 | Asheboro | 27,580 | $47,197 | $240,877 |
| 64 | Spring Lake | 11,573 | $51,958 | $261,167 |
| 65 | Burlington | 59,610 | $56,880 | $256,022 |
| 66 | Dunn | 8,559 | $46,830 | $227,476 |
| 67 | Sanford | 31,478 | $57,586 | $291,206 |
| 68 | Kings Mountain | 12,039 | $49,564 | $238,720 |
| 69 | Eden | 15,356 | $47,260 | $149,286 |
| 70 | Zebulon | 8,711 | $79,112 | $341,721 |
| 71 | Gastonia | 82,884 | $64,059 | $277,331 |
| 72 | Reidsville | 14,585 | $42,921 | $210,647 |
| 73 | Monroe | 36,759 | $72,540 | $356,520 |
| 74 | Smithfield | 12,116 | $43,270 | $293,391 |
| 75 | Lexington | 19,690 | $43,128 | $271,913 |
| 76 | Selma | 6,817 | $41,368 | $275,820 |
| 77 | Oxford | 8,914 | $43,054 | $255,873 |
| 78 | Roxboro | 8,182 | $36,553 | $220,111 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS via Saturday Night Science. 78 North Carolina suburbs within 30 miles of a city over 200,000.
Summary
Summary: There You Have It – The Best Suburbs In North Carolina
If you’re measuring the locations in North Carolina where there are lots to do, and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
The best suburbs in North Carolina are Davidson, Cary, Morrisville, Cornelius, Whispering Pines, Pinehurst, Apex, Huntersville, Rolesville, and Wake Forest.
