Best And Worst Cities To Move To In North Carolina
We all know the Carolinas are a fantastic place to live. But every year rankings come from many publications as to where you should live in North and South Carolina.
Where You Should Move To in North Carolina
The USA TODAY Homefront team ranked 22 cities in North Carolina across 17 metrics to determine which cities are best to call home.
Chapel Hill and suburbs such as Concord and Burlington ranked best, while coastal towns such as Jacksonville and Wilmington ranked among the worst due to the high risk of natural disasters.
Several cities in the Charlotte area made the top 10 on the list as a great place to move. Concord came in second, Mooresville was 4th, Kannapolis came in 6th, and Huntersville made it to 8th on the list.
Still Good But Not Ranking Very High
Unfortunately Charlotte fell toward the bottom of the list at 20th. Some Carolina cities scored pretty low because of the risk of natural disasters. Those include Jacksonville and Wilmington.
Read more about how these cities were ranked here
| Rank | City | Life Expectancy (years) | Median Income | Typical Rent | Typical Home Value | Unemployment Rate |
| 1 | Chapel Hill | 82.1 | $85,940 | $1,900 | $597,973 | 3.1% |
| 2 | Concord | 78.4 | $83,480 | $1,786 | $367,515 | 3.5% |
| 3 | Burlington | 76.8 | $52,963 | $1,227 | $229,688 | 3.5% |
| 4 | Mooresville | 77.9 | $82,622 | $1,698 | $464,903 | 3.5% |
| 5 | Cary | 81.6 | $125,317 | $1,776 | $612,115 | 3.2% |
| 6 | Kannapolis | 78.4 | $66,487 | $1,601 | $264,039 | 3.5% |
| 7 | Rocky Mount | 75.1 | $50,092 | $1,090 | $180,011 | 5.0% |
| 8 | Huntersville | 80 | $112,893 | $1,867 | $526,857 | 3.5% |
| 9 | Apex | 81.6 | $129,688 | $1,883 | $600,583 | 3.2% |
| 10 | Wake Forest | 81.6 | $115,159 | $1,811 | $514,120 | 3.2% |
| 11 | Durham | 80 | $74,710 | $1,660 | $397,715 | 3.1% |
| 12 | Asheville | 78.4 | $63,810 | $1,922 | $462,515 | 2.9% |
| 13 | High Point | 77.8 | $58,582 | $1,505 | $229,034 | 4.1% |
| 14 | Gastonia | 75.1 | $58,047 | $1,609 | $269,479 | 3.5% |
| 15 | Winston-Salem | 77.7 | $54,416 | $1,475 | $245,200 | 3.5% |
| 16 | Greenville | 77.5 | $47,485 | $1,433 | $230,022 | 4.0% |
| 17 | Greensboro | 77.8 | $55,051 | $1,443 | $248,614 | 4.1% |
| 18 | Fayetteville | 75.7 | $53,424 | $1,324 | $207,144 | 4.8% |
| 19 | Raleigh | 81.6 | $78,631 | $1,670 | $434,407 | 3.2% |
| 20 | Charlotte | 80 | $74,070 | $1,772 | $391,750 | 3.5% |
| 21 | Jacksonville | 76.2 | $50,185 | $1,245 | $236,054 | 4.2% |
| 22 | Wilmington | 79.1 | $58,908 | $1,709 | $395,758 | 3.3% |
