Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 44/100
D
Median home value$392,800
Raleigh $418,400
Median rent$1,508/mo
Raleigh $1,573/mo
Cost-burdened households32%
Raleigh 28%
Durham
Durham County291,467 residentsDurham Public Schools
62
C
Suburbgrade score
9th of 14 Raleigh suburbs. Strong on commute & transport and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
62
Raleigh median 64
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Durham yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 62 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Durham is like to live in, by category
Bars show Durham against Raleigh. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 46/100
D
Within-state proficiency28th pct
Raleigh median 75th pct
Student–teacher ratio14.5
Raleigh median 16.0
Graduation rate83%
Raleigh median 90%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 79/100
B+
Housing cost index94
Raleigh 100
Eff. tax rate0.83%
Raleigh 0.68%
Local sales tax7.00%
Raleigh median 7.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 83/100
A−
Mean commute22.3 min
Raleigh 26.8 min
Under 30 minutes74%
Raleigh 60%
Transit stops / sq mi29
Raleigh median 1.7 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 74/100
B
Restaurants & cafés79
Raleigh median 55 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Raleigh median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks94
Raleigh median 34 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 59/100
C
Median household income$81,619
Raleigh $100,103
Unemployment3.8%
Raleigh 4.1%
Professional occupations58%
Raleigh 55%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Durham yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Durham on housing & affordability
Durham's weakest grade is D. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Apex17 mi from DurhamB− 70 B− Holly Springs23 mi from DurhamB− 66 C+ Cary14 mi from DurhamC+ 74 B Wake Forest22 mi from DurhamC 66 C+ Morrisville10 mi from DurhamC 71 B− Rolesville25 mi from DurhamC 59 C Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Durham
Is Durham, NC a good place to live?
Durham scores 62 out of 100, 9th of 14 Raleigh suburbs. It is strongest on commute & transport and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Durham expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $392,800, 6% below the Raleigh median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.83%. $1,508/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Durham?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Durham sit at the 28th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 83% graduation rate and a 14.5 student–teacher ratio. Durham is served by Durham Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Durham?
The mean commute is 22.3 min, with 74% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 23% working from home. Transit density is 29 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Durham?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 79 restaurants and cafés and 94 parks, which grades B on amenities.
Are the homes in Durham old or new?
The median home in Durham was built in 1995 — older than the Raleigh median of 2000. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 61% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.