New study ranks the 20 best NC cities to move to. None of them are Raleigh or Charlotte
Many of the 20 best cities to move to in North Carolina are in the Triangle and Charlotte metro areas, a new study says. But Raleigh and Charlotte did not make the cut.
The ranking from ConsumerAffairs, a review and news platform that aims to help buyers make decisions, analyzed the 40 largest cities in North Carolina. Data was gathered from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, the Federal Aviation Administration and municipalities’ websites.
Rankings were determined by a point system, with each city or town receiving a score in five categories: safety, affordability, economic strength, education and health care, and quality of life.
Here’s what to know about the study.
Which are the best NC cities to move to?
The top 20 cities in North Carolina to live, according to the ConsumerAffairs study, are scattered across the state.
The top 10 spots went to cities and towns in the Raleigh and Charlotte areas:
- No. 1: Cary
- No. 2: Cornelius
- No. 3: Apex
- No. 4: Huntersville
- No. 5: Morrisville
- No. 6: Wake Forest
- No. 7: Matthews
- No. 8: Holly Springs
- No. 9: Fuquay-Varina
- No. 10: Concord
- No. 11: Asheboro
- No. 12: Chapel Hill
- No. 13: Hickory
- No. 14: New Bern
- No. 15: Kannapolis
- No. 16: Indian Trail
- No. 17: Mooresville
- No. 18: High Point
- No. 19: Clayton
- No. 20: Kernersville
Raleigh and Durham barely missed the top 20 spots, falling at No. 22 and No. 23, respectively, right behind Sanford. The City of Oaks ranked No. 14 for quality of life, and the Bull City ranked No. 4 in the education and health care category.
Charlotte was ranked No. 31, coming in at No. 15 in both the quality of life and economy categories.
What made the top five cities rank highly?
Median housing costs in Cary — which received a score of 75.75 out of 100 points — eat up about 16% of the median income on average, according to the ConsumerAffairs study. That gave Cary, which has been named one of the most affordable places for remote workers, a high affordability score. Cary also has a low unemployment rate, high home value appreciation and low rates of violent crime.
“Today, it’s a vital part of North Carolina’s Research Triangle, home to tech companies, research institutions and major employers in industries like health care, biotech and finance,” the study says.
Cornelius and Apex scored high in the safety and economy categories.
Huntersville received more points for its economy than any other city or town in the top five best cities.
Morrisville, which scored 68.56 out of 100, was noted for its green spaces, low unemployment rate and affordable housing.
Top rankings by category
In addition to the overall ranking, towns and cities were ranked in the five categories considered in the ConsumerAffairs study:
- Safety (includes rates of violent crime and property crime per 1,000 residents): Fuquay-Varina
- Affordability (includes median housing costs as a share of median income, and median rent): Asheboro
- Economy (includes poverty and unemployment rates, and home appreciation from 2023-24): Matthews
- Health care and education (includes number of health care professionals per 1,000 people and share of population that has graduated high school): Chapel Hill, home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Quality of life (includes percentage of population living within 10-minute walk of a green space and walkability): Clayton
How migration to NC metro areas are driving growth
According to the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, the state population is expected to reach 11.7 million by 2030 and 15.4 million by 2060.
Wake and Mecklenburg counties, where many of the cities and towns on the ConsumerAffairs ranking are located, are driving North Carolina’s population growth, The News & Observer previously reported.
Combined, the two counties have added more than 194,00 people since 2020. That’s almost a third of North Carolina’s growth over that period.
In many places, migrants from outside the United States are driving population growth.
In Mecklenburg County, for example, migrants from other countries accounted for 58% of the area’s growth since 2020.
This story was originally published March 28, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "New study ranks the 20 best NC cities to move to. None of them are Raleigh or Charlotte."
