Living in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
On Locationistics's default family weighting, Durham-Chapel Hill ranks #6 of 103 US metros and #2 of 3 in North Carolina. Typical home $411k · median income $84k · 602k residents.
Live data: 103 of 103 metros refreshed — BLS unemployment 2026-07 · FBI crime 2025 · Census ACS ACS 2024 5-year · Zillow ZHVI 2026-07-31 · last refresh Sep 6, 2026. Sources and limits.
Strongest here
- College pipeline — 100/100
- Healthcare access — 96/100
- Temperate climate — 91/100
Weakest here
- Safe neighbourhoods — 40/100
- Home affordability — 43/100
- Property growth — 45/100
Who lives in Durham-Chapel Hill
Racial and ethnic composition of the metro, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 53%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 13.6%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 23.1%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 5.2%
- Other or two or more
- 5.1%
Diversity index 80/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
Schools in Durham-Chapel Hill
Measured grade-8 test results across every public school district in the metro, weighted by how many students sat the tests (2020 school year).
- Reading proficient
- 51.7%
- Math proficient
- 30.2%
- Combined
- 41%
Source: NCES EDFacts assessments via the Urban Institute Education Data API. A dash means the state withheld that subject for this year. States set their own proficiency bars, so compare within a state first.
Sports & college recruiting in Durham-Chapel Hill
How much college scholarship attention is within reach of local high schools — the four-year colleges and universities in the metro, how many of them are large programs, and how the state as a whole compares.
- Recruiting reach
- 62/100
- Colleges in metro
- 4
- Large universities
- 2
Source: NCES IPEDS four-year institution directory. This measures where scholarship programs are, not signings per high school — no recruiting-signings dataset is public. Large means 10,000+ students, the size at which a university fields a full slate of scholarship teams.
All 14 factor scores
- Temperate climate
- 31°F Jan low · 89°F Jul high
- 91
- School academics
- 54/100 · 41% proficient grade 8
- 52
- School sports & recruiting
- 62/100 · 4 colleges nearby, 2 large
- 70
- Safe neighbourhoods
- 40/100 safety index
- 40
- Home affordability
- $411k typical home · 4.9× income
- 43
- Property growth
- +23% over 5 years
- 45
- Faith community
- 540 adherents per 1,000
- 66
- College pipeline
- 90/100 college pipeline
- 100
- Job market
- 3.4% unemployment · 72/100 job market
- 75
- Income vs. cost
- $84k median · cost index 96
- 62
- Self-employment health
- 72/100 small-business index
- 73
- Short commutes
- 24 min mean commute
- 57
- Population diversity
- 80/100 diversity · 53% White · 13.6% Hispanic · 23.1% Black · 5.2% Asian
- 86
- Healthcare access
- 88/100 healthcare index
- 96
Common questions
Is Durham-Chapel Hill a good place to live?
It depends on your weighting, which is the whole point of this tool. On the default family weighting it sits at #6 nationally, carried by college pipeline and held back by safe neighbourhoods. Re-weight the factors to see where it lands for you.
How much does a house cost in Durham-Chapel Hill?
The typical home value is about $411k, roughly 4.9× the median household income, and values are up 23% over five years.
What is the weather like?
Around 31°F for a typical January low and 89°F for a typical July high, using NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
Similar metros in the South
Thinking of moving to Durham-Chapel Hill?
The relocation guide covers what an interstate move costs, the licence, registration and tax paperwork with its deadlines, and how to line up work in a new metro before you arrive.
Want the whole picture in one place? The Durham-Chapel Hill relocation report is a full written analysis of this metro — ranks, every factor, affordability maths, schools, community and comparable metros — for $29.
Figures are compiled public-data estimates. Methodology and sources.