The 10 Best Neighborhoods In Raleigh, NC For 2024

You want a change and you’ve decided that you want to live in Raleigh, North Carolina. So, you get the job and now you need a place to live. There’s a lot to think about when searching for the right neighborhood. Things like safety, affordability, and amenities are things that most people find important. But, if you’ve never been to Raleigh, where do you begin? We’ll tell you. HomeSnacks has created the ultimate guide to The City of Oak’s best neighborhoods for 2024 and listed them below.

Whether you’re going to be a Hurricane’s fan, a Wolfpack fan, a fan of renting a home, or a fan of buying one, there’s a great place to live in Raleigh that won’t break your bank. Matter of fact, the Falls of Neuse and North Central neighborhoods both have homes for under $349,390–that’s unheard of in a city with over 300,000 residents!

There’s always something brewing in Raleigh: great coffee, craft beer, and street festivals that rival those found in the biggest cities in the country. So, if you want to get your hands on one of this city’s hottest neighborhoods, don’t wait: Raleigh is also one of the fastest growing cities in the country. So, do yourself a favor and take a second to see our list of Raleigh’s top ten best neighborhoods.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

To break it down even further, if you’re a student or have a job working for NC State, the Hillsborough neighborhoods is filled with eclectic coffee shops, restaurants, shopping and is close to a Target and the university. The Glenwood neighborhood is easily accessible by foot or bike and there are a lot of young professionals that frequent its classic corner bars and diverse restaurants. These both great neighborhoods, but they are not Raleigh’s best neighborhood.

So, what’s the best neighborhood in Raleigh for 2024? Well, according to the latest census data and our SnackAbility algorithm, that would be Glenwood.

Keep reading to see how the rest of Raleigh’s 18 fared.

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In North Carolina
• Cheapest Places To Live In North Carolina
• Most Dangerous Cities In North Carolina

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Raleigh, NC Neighborhoods In 2024

To rank the best neighborhoods in Raleigh, we had to determine what criteria define “best” and then apply Saturday Night Science to it.

Using FBI crime, Census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

• High incomes
• Low unemployment rates
• Low crime
• High home prices
• High population densities (A proxy for things to do)

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 18 in each category, where 1 was the best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index, the “Best City Neighborhood In Raleigh.” We’re lookin’ at you, Glenwood.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Raleigh, North Carolina has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from best to worst.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best neighborhoods to live in Raleigh.

Summary: Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of The Best Neighborhoods In Raleigh

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Raleigh where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

The best neighborhoods in Raleigh are Glenwood, Wade, Five Points, Hillsborough, Six Forks, Mordecai, North Central, North, Falls Of Neuse, and Northwest.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Raleigh aren’t all good. South takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in Raleigh.

The worst neighborhoods in Raleigh are South, Southwest, Southeast, Northeast, and South Central.

We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below.

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

• Richest Cities In North Carolina
• Safest Cities in North Carolina
• Worst Places To Live In North Carolina

Best Neighborhoods To Live In Raleigh For 2024 Detailed Data