Raleigh–Cary
14 cities and suburbs across Raleigh, each scored out of 100 on the same national scales. The metro's median home is $418,400 and its mean commute 26.8 min. Cary scores highest overall at 74. Raleigh leads on schools, Smithfield leads on cost of living.
14
Places
64
Median score
0
Poll responses
Coverage
14 places
in Raleigh
in Raleigh
One of 50 metros graded so far, on the same national scales.
10 mi
20 mi
30 mi
Downtown Raleigh
Downtown Cary
Cary
Morrisville
Apex
Holly Springs
Wake Forest
Knightdale
Fuquay-Varina
Durham
Garner
Wendell
Rolesville
Clayton
Smithfield
Dot size = overall scoreA B C D Positions plotted from place centroids · rings measured from Downtown Raleigh
Every suburb of Raleigh, ranked
| # | Place | Score | Hous | Scho | Cost | Comm | Amen | Empl | Resi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary | 74 B | C+ | B− | B− | A− | A | B | — |
| 2 | Morrisville | 71 B− | C | C+ | B− | A− | B+ | B+ | — |
| 3 | Apex | 70 B− | B− | B− | C+ | B− | C+ | B | — |
| 4 | Raleigh | 68 B− | D | B | B | B+ | A− | C | — |
| 5 | Holly Springs | 66 C+ | B− | B− | C | C− | B− | B | — |
| 6 | Wake Forest | 66 C+ | C | B− | B− | D+ | B | B− | — |
| 7 | Knightdale | 65 C+ | D+ | B− | B | C+ | C− | B− | — |
| 8 | Fuquay-Varina | 64 C+ | C | B− | B+ | D− | B | C+ | — |
| 9 | Durham | 62 C | D | D | B+ | A− | B | C | — |
| 10 | Garner | 61 C | D | B | B | C | B− | D | — |
| 11 | Wendell | 59 C | D+ | B− | B | D+ | D− | B− | — |
| 12 | Rolesville | 59 C | C | C+ | C+ | D− | D | B | — |
| 13 | Clayton | 56 C− | D | C | B | D− | C+ | C+ | — |
| 14 | Smithfield | 48 D+ | F | C+ | A− | C− | C | F | — |
— for Residents: fewer than 8 poll responses, so the category is not yet counted. Those places' overall scores are computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. 14 of 14 are currently below the threshold.
Six Raleigh lists
Best Raleigh suburbs for familiesMost affordable Raleigh suburbsBest Raleigh suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown RaleighMost walkable Raleigh suburbsBest Raleigh suburbs for young professionals8 head-to-heads
Raleigh vs KnightdaleDurham vs MorrisvilleCary vs MorrisvilleCary vs ApexWake Forest vs RolesvilleHolly Springs vs Fuquay-VarinaApex vs Fuquay-VarinaGarner vs Knightdale5 guides
What "median home value" hides when you compare suburbsWhat a school proficiency percentile actually measuresWhat a two-mile amenity count can and cannot seeReading an effective property tax rateWhat the scores deliberately do not coverAll guides →