More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Greensboro to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Greensboro are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Greensboro ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Greensboro area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Greensboro proper, although Oak Ridge certainly tries.
We examined the 31 biggest suburbs of Greensboro 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 Greensboro in terms of quality of life.
$39,663 median income · $283,545 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Liberty, the absolute worst place to live around Greensboro according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Liberty beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the Greensboro area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 18th 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 Liberty.
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.
$47,260 median income · $149,286 median home price
Located in
Rockingham County, North Carolina
Welcome to Eden. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 28.5 miles to Greensboro. Income levels here are the 7th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $47,260 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 | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$55,823 median income · $196,092 median home price
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Greensboro suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Green Level 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 Greensboro suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Movers
$35,923 median income · $228,273 median home price
If you live in Ramseur, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the lowest Greensboro suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 9th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Greensboro. Remember, we looked at 31 cities for this study.
Ramseur is about 26.6 miles to downtown.
$42,921 median income · $210,647 median home price
Located in
Rockingham County, North Carolina
Reidsville has the distinction of being a Greensboro suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Reidsville has the 5th lowest home values in the metro Greensboro area, where the median price is $210,647. The median income is $160,275.
Reidsville has an unemployment rate of 6.4% which ranks 8th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$38,446 median income · $156,362 median home price
Mayodan has 2,401 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 22.8%.
$47,197 median income · $240,877 median home price
Located in
Randolph County, North Carolina
Ah, Asheboro. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Greensboro.
It’s the place with the 17th most out of work residents in the Greensboro metro area (4.0%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$52,593 median income · $223,377 median home price
Madison is a city about 22.2 miles from Greensboro, but Greensboro 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. Madison has the 16th most uninsured people, 9th worst incomes, and has the 2nd highest unemployment rate (10.3%) in the entire Greensboro metro area.
Homes only cost $223,377 for a reason. That’s cheap for Greensboro standards.
$53,456 median income · $260,390 median home price
If you absolutely have to live near Greensboro, then Randleman might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Greensboro suburb.
About 2.3% of residents are out of work.
Data | Movers
$51,054 median income · $274,873 median home price
Rounding out the ten worst Greensboro suburbs to call home is Rural Hall.
Located 27.6 miles outside the city, Rural Hall is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the highest unemployment rate (12.5%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | 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 Greensboro suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Greensboro for 2026
To figure out how bad a Greensboro 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 Greensboro.
We also limited the analysis to places with 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 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 Greensboro.” We’re looking at you, Liberty.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Greensboro.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Greensboro Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberty | 8.00 | 2,682 | $39,663 | $283,545 |
| 2 | Eden | 8.14 | 15,356 | $47,260 | $149,286 |
| 3 | Green Level | 8.14 | 3,230 | $55,823 | $196,092 |
| 4 | Ramseur | 8.93 | 2,150 | $35,923 | $228,273 |
| 5 | Reidsville | 9.07 | 14,585 | $42,921 | $210,647 |
| 6 | Mayodan | 9.71 | 2,401 | $38,446 | $156,362 |
| 7 | Asheboro | 10.79 | 27,580 | $47,197 | $240,877 |
| 8 | Madison | 11.64 | 2,242 | $52,593 | $223,377 |
| 9 | Randleman | 11.86 | 4,644 | $53,456 | $260,390 |
| 10 | Rural Hall | 12.00 | 3,466 | $51,054 | $274,873 |
| 11 | Thomasville | 13.14 | 27,321 | $60,935 | $237,157 |
| 12 | Graham | 13.79 | 18,048 | $56,239 | $292,521 |
| 13 | Burlington | 13.86 | 59,610 | $56,880 | $256,022 |
| 14 | Walnut Cove | 14.14 | 2,115 | $44,815 | $238,799 |
| 15 | Wentworth | 14.29 | 2,692 | $68,500 | $225,114 |
| 16 | Haw River | 14.93 | 2,824 | $61,058 | $299,892 |
| 17 | Winston-Salem | 15.50 | 252,037 | $59,268 | $264,333 |
| 18 | High Point | 15.93 | 116,245 | $64,561 | $249,821 |
| 19 | Jamestown | 16.00 | 15,787 | $56,554 | $208,863 |
| 20 | Trinity | 16.21 | 7,111 | $82,664 | $287,548 |
| 21 | Archdale | 19.21 | 12,087 | $64,757 | $248,494 |
| 22 | Wallburg | 20.50 | 3,150 | $88,406 | $400,219 |
| 23 | Kernersville | 20.86 | 27,830 | $71,918 | $322,447 |
| 24 | Elon | 21.57 | 11,032 | $84,773 | $350,880 |
| 25 | Midway | 22.00 | 4,897 | $83,446 | $319,174 |
| 26 | Pleasant Garden | 22.21 | 5,060 | $88,204 | $315,482 |
| 27 | Stokesdale | 23.57 | 6,004 | $121,071 | $386,451 |
| 28 | Swepsonville | 24.14 | 2,517 | $100,559 | $362,418 |
| 29 | Summerfield | 24.93 | 11,116 | $160,275 | $519,610 |
| 30 | Gibsonville | 24.93 | 9,467 | $95,861 | $307,075 |
| 31 | Oak Ridge | 26.00 | 7,744 | $155,385 | $599,278 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 31 suburbs within 30 miles of Greensboro.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Greensboro where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Greensboro with Liberty casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Greensboro are Liberty, Eden, Green Level, Ramseur, Reidsville, Mayodan, Asheboro, Madison, Randleman, and Rural Hall.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Greensboro aren’t all bad. Oak Ridge takes the cake as the best place to live around Greensboro. 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 Greensboro FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Greensboro?
Liberty ranks as the worst suburb around Greensboro for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Eden and Green Level are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Greensboro?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Greensboro are Liberty, Eden, Green Level, Ramseur, Reidsville, Mayodan, Asheboro, Madison, Randleman, and Rural Hall. We scored all 31 places within 30 miles.
Why does Liberty rank as the worst suburb?
Liberty posts the roughest combined numbers of the 31 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $39,663, a median home value of $283,545, and a poverty rate of 16.6%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Greensboro?
Oak Ridge lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Greensboro by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Greensboro 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.
