More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Winston-Salem to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Winston-Salem are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Winston-Salem ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Winston-Salem area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Winston-Salem proper, although Oak Ridge certainly tries.
We examined the 25 biggest suburbs of Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem in terms of quality of life.
$43,128 median income · $271,913 median home price
Located in
Davidson County, North Carolina
We’ll get the ball rolling with Lexington, the absolute worst place to live around Winston-Salem according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Lexington beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 2nd worst in the Winston-Salem area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 12th 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 Lexington.
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
$53,125 median income · $249,861 median home price
Welcome to Yadkinville. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 22.6 miles to Winston-Salem. Income levels here are the 6th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $53,125 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.
$38,446 median income · $156,362 median home price
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Winston-Salem suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Mayodan 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 Winston-Salem suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
$52,593 median income · $223,377 median home price
If you live in Madison, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 5th lowest Winston-Salem suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 2nd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Winston-Salem. Remember, we looked at 25 cities for this study.
Madison is about 25.6 miles to downtown.
$51,054 median income · $274,873 median home price
Rural Hall has the distinction of being a Winston-Salem suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Rural Hall has the 13th lowest home values in the metro Winston-Salem area, where the median price is $274,873. The median income is $160,275.
Rural Hall has an unemployment rate of 12.5% which ranks worst.
Data | Movers
$60,935 median income · $237,157 median home price
Located in
Randolph County, North Carolina
Thomasville has 27,321 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 16.3%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$65,465 median income · $202,859 median home price
Ah, Spencer. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Winston-Salem.
It’s the place with the 3rd most out of work residents in the Winston-Salem metro area (7.1%).
Data | Movers
$44,815 median income · $238,799 median home price
Walnut Cove is a city about 14.9 miles from Winston-Salem, but Winston-Salem 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. Walnut Cove has the 2most uninsured people, 3rd worst incomes, and has the 12th highest unemployment rate (4.4%) in the entire Winston-Salem metro area.
Homes only cost $238,799 for a reason. That’s cheap for Winston-Salem standards.
$64,561 median income · $249,821 median home price
Located in
Randolph County, North Carolina
If you absolutely have to live near Winston-Salem, then High Point might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Winston-Salem suburb.
About 5.2% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$55,367 median income · $280,268 median home price
Rounding out the ten worst Winston-Salem suburbs to call home is Mocksville.
Located 21.8 miles outside the city, Mocksville is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 13th highest unemployment rate (4.2%), 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 Winston-Salem suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Winston-Salem for 2026
To figure out how bad a Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem.
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 Winston-Salem.
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 Winston-Salem.” We’re looking at you, Lexington.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Winston-Salem.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Winston-Salem Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lexington | 5.57 | 19,690 | $43,128 | $271,913 |
| 2 | Yadkinville | 6.29 | 3,004 | $53,125 | $249,861 |
| 3 | Mayodan | 6.57 | 2,401 | $38,446 | $156,362 |
| 4 | Madison | 7.86 | 2,242 | $52,593 | $223,377 |
| 5 | Rural Hall | 8.00 | 3,466 | $51,054 | $274,873 |
| 6 | Thomasville | 8.71 | 27,321 | $60,935 | $237,157 |
| 7 | Spencer | 9.43 | 3,349 | $65,465 | $202,859 |
| 8 | Walnut Cove | 10.07 | 2,115 | $44,815 | $238,799 |
| 9 | High Point | 10.36 | 116,245 | $64,561 | $249,821 |
| 10 | Mocksville | 10.86 | 6,068 | $55,367 | $280,268 |
| 11 | Jamestown | 11.50 | 15,787 | $56,554 | $208,863 |
| 12 | Trinity | 11.86 | 7,111 | $82,664 | $287,548 |
| 13 | Greensboro | 11.86 | 301,198 | $61,515 | $264,428 |
| 14 | Archdale | 14.07 | 12,087 | $64,757 | $248,494 |
| 15 | Tobaccoville | 14.86 | 2,664 | $80,263 | $271,373 |
| 16 | King | 15.36 | 7,408 | $57,817 | $276,086 |
| 17 | Wallburg | 15.50 | 3,150 | $88,406 | $400,219 |
| 18 | Kernersville | 15.71 | 27,830 | $71,918 | $322,447 |
| 19 | Midway | 17.07 | 4,897 | $83,446 | $319,174 |
| 20 | Clemmons | 17.43 | 21,871 | $87,655 | $387,814 |
| 21 | Stokesdale | 17.57 | 6,004 | $121,071 | $386,451 |
| 22 | Lewisville | 18.21 | 13,828 | $100,917 | $404,564 |
| 23 | Summerfield | 19.36 | 11,116 | $160,275 | $519,610 |
| 24 | Bermuda Run | 20.21 | 3,211 | $69,301 | $404,761 |
| 25 | Oak Ridge | 20.71 | 7,744 | $155,385 | $599,278 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 25 suburbs within 30 miles of Winston-Salem.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Winston-Salem where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Winston-Salem with Lexington casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Winston-Salem are Lexington, Yadkinville, Mayodan, Madison, Rural Hall, Thomasville, Spencer, Walnut Cove, High Point, and Mocksville.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Winston-Salem aren’t all bad. Oak Ridge takes the cake as the best place to live around Winston-Salem. 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 Winston-Salem FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Winston-Salem?
Lexington ranks as the worst suburb around Winston-Salem for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Yadkinville and Mayodan are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Winston-Salem?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Winston-Salem are Lexington, Yadkinville, Mayodan, Madison, Rural Hall, Thomasville, Spencer, Walnut Cove, High Point, and Mocksville. We scored all 25 places within 30 miles.
Why does Lexington rank as the worst suburb?
Lexington posts the roughest combined numbers of the 25 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $43,128, a median home value of $271,913, and a poverty rate of 27.8%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Winston-Salem?
Oak Ridge lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Winston-Salem by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Winston-Salem 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.
