More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Durham to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Durham are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Durham ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Durham area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Durham proper, although Apex certainly tries.
We examined the 25 biggest suburbs of Durham to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in North Carolina lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Durham in terms of quality of life.
$36,553 median income · $220,111 median home price
Located in
Person County, North Carolina
We’ll get the ball rolling with Roxboro, the absolute worst place to live around Durham according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Roxboro beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Durham area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Roxboro.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$55,823 median income · $196,092 median home price
Welcome to Green Level. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 26.6 miles to Durham. Income levels here are the 3rd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $55,823 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Movers
$74,739 median income · $273,631 median home price
Located in
Granville County, North Carolina
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Durham suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Butner on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Durham suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$43,054 median income · $255,873 median home price
Located in
Granville County, North Carolina
If you live in Oxford, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 2nd lowest Durham suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Durham. Remember, we looked at 25 cities for this study.
Oxford is about 29.4 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$56,239 median income · $292,521 median home price
Located in
Alamance County, North Carolina
Graham has the distinction of being a Durham suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Graham has the 5th lowest home values in the metro Durham area, where the median price is $292,521. The median income is $149,565.
Graham has an unemployment rate of 6.8% which ranks 5th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$59,464 median income · $361,642 median home price
Franklinton has 2,645 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 17.2%.
$82,961 median income · $342,137 median home price
Ah, Creedmoor. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Durham.
It’s the place with the 3rd most out of work residents in the Durham metro area (8.2%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$61,058 median income · $299,892 median home price
Haw River is a city about 26.8 miles from Durham, but Durham probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Haw River has the 2nd most uninsured people, 6th worst incomes, and has the 23rd highest unemployment rate (1.7%) in the entire Durham metro area.
Homes only cost $299,892 for a reason. That’s cheap for Durham standards.
$78,756 median income · $384,100 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
If you absolutely have to live near Durham, then Garner might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Durham suburb.
About 6.2% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$83,174 median income · $353,221 median home price
Located in
Orange County, North Carolina
Rounding out the ten worst Durham suburbs to call home is Mebane.
Located 22.0 miles outside the city, Mebane is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 13th highest unemployment rate (3.9%), and poverty is far above the area average.
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 worst Durham suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Durham for 2026
To figure out how bad a Durham suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Durham.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 25 suburbs to evaluate around Durham.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 25 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Durham.” We’re looking at you, Roxboro.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Durham.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Durham Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roxboro | 3.00 | 8,182 | $36,553 | $220,111 |
| 2 | Green Level | 4.43 | 3,230 | $55,823 | $196,092 |
| 3 | Butner | 5.00 | 8,065 | $74,739 | $273,631 |
| 4 | Oxford | 5.14 | 8,914 | $43,054 | $255,873 |
| 5 | Graham | 6.57 | 18,048 | $56,239 | $292,521 |
| 6 | Franklinton | 6.57 | 2,645 | $59,464 | $361,642 |
| 7 | Creedmoor | 6.79 | 4,997 | $82,961 | $342,137 |
| 8 | Haw River | 7.14 | 2,824 | $61,058 | $299,892 |
| 9 | Garner | 11.43 | 34,473 | $78,756 | $384,100 |
| 10 | Mebane | 11.50 | 19,538 | $83,174 | $353,221 |
| 11 | Raleigh | 13.07 | 481,031 | $85,395 | $433,996 |
| 12 | Hillsborough | 13.79 | 9,724 | $98,163 | $472,962 |
| 13 | Youngsville | 14.57 | 3,011 | $86,528 | $410,704 |
| 14 | Carrboro | 14.71 | 21,204 | $85,743 | $429,675 |
| 15 | Swepsonville | 14.71 | 2,517 | $100,559 | $362,418 |
| 16 | Chapel Hill | 15.29 | 61,607 | $85,989 | $631,167 |
| 17 | Pittsboro | 16.71 | 4,752 | $81,639 | $548,636 |
| 18 | Knightdale | 17.00 | 20,214 | $103,220 | $370,204 |
| 19 | Rolesville | 18.07 | 10,766 | $149,565 | $497,996 |
| 20 | Fuquay-Varina | 18.36 | 40,485 | $115,497 | $525,746 |
| 21 | Wake Forest | 18.57 | 52,844 | $123,802 | $512,161 |
| 22 | Holly Springs | 19.71 | 45,248 | $135,578 | $579,090 |
| 23 | Cary | 20.43 | 179,306 | $134,905 | $626,396 |
| 24 | Morrisville | 20.71 | 31,422 | $125,396 | $480,926 |
| 25 | Apex | 21.71 | 70,630 | $144,135 | $599,085 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 25 suburbs within 30 miles of Durham.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Durham where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Durham with Roxboro casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Durham are Roxboro, Green Level, Butner, Oxford, Graham, Franklinton, Creedmoor, Haw River, Garner, and Mebane.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Durham aren’t all bad. Apex takes the cake as the best place to live around Durham. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Durham FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Durham?
Roxboro ranks as the worst suburb around Durham for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Green Level and Butner are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Durham?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Durham are Roxboro, Green Level, Butner, Oxford, Graham, Franklinton, Creedmoor, Haw River, Garner, and Mebane. We scored all 25 places within 30 miles.
Why does Roxboro rank as the worst suburb?
Roxboro posts the roughest combined numbers of the 25 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $36,553, a median home value of $220,111, and a poverty rate of 33.3%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Durham?
Apex lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Durham by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Durham list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
