Raleigh

Best Raleigh suburbs for families

Ranked on a families weighting: schools at 30%, amenities within two miles at 20%, and the four poll questions about children, safety and sidewalks at 20%. Cost still counts, at 15%. The full weighting is shown at the bottom, and it is not the same as the overall score.

Updated Sep 2026·14 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
Cary, NC Town Hall
Cary$580k median · 22.5 min commute
Schools B−Amenities AResidents inactive
75
Family score
overall 74 B
2
The Raleigh skyline as viewed from Dorothea Dix Park.
Raleigh$416k median · 23.0 min commute
Schools BAmenities A−Residents inactive
74
Family score
overall 68 B−
3
Morrisville, North Carolina.
Morrisville$519k median · 21.8 min commute
Schools C+Amenities B+Residents inactive
70
Family score
overall 71 B−
4
Fuquay-Varina Town Hall located at 401 Judd Parkway, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.
Fuquay-Varina$452k median · 33.1 min commute
Schools B−Amenities BResidents inactive
69
Family score
overall 64 C+
5
Row of buildings down White Street in Downtown Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA.
Wake Forest$475k median · 30.9 min commute
Schools B−Amenities BResidents inactive
69
Family score
overall 66 C+
6
Garner, NC Water Tower and Historic distric. Oct 2013
Garner$355k median · 26.2 min commute
Schools BAmenities B−Residents inactive
68
Family score
overall 61 C
7
Photo of downtown Apex in 2025
Apex$576k median · 25.2 min commute
Schools B−Amenities C+Residents inactive
68
Family score
overall 70 B−
8
The Christmas parade travels through downtown Holly Springs, NC
Holly Springs$536k median · 28.8 min commute
Schools B−Amenities B−Residents inactive
67
Family score
overall 66 C+
9
Historic downtown Knightdale
Knightdale$380k median · 24.0 min commute
Schools B−Amenities C−Residents inactive
65
Family score
overall 65 C+
10
This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 7700
Durham$393k median · 22.3 min commute
Schools DAmenities BResidents inactive
61
Family score
overall 62 C
This list's weighting
Schools 30%Amenities 20%Resident poll (Q2, Q5, Q6, Q8) 20%Cost of living 15%Housing 10%Commute 5%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Raleigh lists
Most affordable Raleigh suburbsBest Raleigh suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown RaleighMost walkable Raleigh suburbsBest Raleigh suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Raleigh suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Cary (Zajohnso · CC BY-SA 3.0); Raleigh (Abhiram Juvvadi · CC BY-SA 4.0); Morrisville (Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0); Fuquay-Varina (Fvman · Public domain); Wake Forest (Rysnap1024 · CC BY-SA 4.0); Garner (Mikeiamunion21 · CC BY-SA 3.0); Apex (Pithon314 · CC0); Holly Springs (me · Public domain); Knightdale (Indy beetle · CC0); Durham (Maria Miracoli · CC BY-SA 4.0).