A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Butner$1,570/mo

Typical home $268K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.75% · or rent about $1,307/mo · Housing →

St. Stephens$1,200/mo

Typical home $213K (Census) · tax rate 0.46% · or rent about $958/mo · Housing →

The difference: $370 a month, about $4,400 a year, between Butner and St. Stephens.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

St. Stephens places higher on 11 of 19 NC lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every North Carolina ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

C+ButnerSafer than 38% of U.S. towns –St. StephensNot graded

Schools

CButnerBetter than 27% of districts in the state B+St. StephensBetter than 65% of districts in the state

Health

C−ButnerHealthier than 22% of U.S. towns B−St. StephensHealthier than 49% of U.S. towns

8Butner

11St. Stephens

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most conserved landOutdoors · 276 towns #7#270 Highest graduation rateSchools · 284 towns #270#93 Lowest depressionHealth · 296 towns #63#214 Lowest property taxCost of living · 297 towns #136#16 Most remote workersWork · 285 towns #124#236 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 297 towns #116#215 Cheapest rentCost of living · 284 towns #192#99 Fastest growingGrowth · 291 towns #128#209

Left end = #1 in North Carolina. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Butner’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

ButnerSt. Stephens

Snow a year2″0″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)35th 22nd

Outdoors & history

ButnerSt. Stephens

Trails1 mi 0 mi

Conserved land41.1%0.1%

Archive photos4 —

Community

ButnerSt. Stephens

Library hours a week52 hrs 50 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

144 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

ButnerNC St. StephensNC

Butner ↔ St. Stephens144 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs North Carolina average

ButnerSt. Stephens

People

Population 8,065Lowest 9,457Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +10.6%Highest NC: +9.5% +1.1%Lowest NC: +9.5%

Median age 40.3±3.5Lowest 3% above NC 43.2±2.3Highest 10% above NC

St. Stephens and Butner are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 21.9%±3.9Lowest NC: 21.8% 22.9%±3.7Highest NC: 21.8%

St. Stephens and Butner are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 16.8%±3.5Lowest NC: 17.2% 20.3%±3Highest NC: 17.2%

St. Stephens and Butner are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 27%Highest NC: 35.7% 25.7%Lowest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.4%±1.9Lowest NC: 6.4% 5.6%±1.9Highest NC: 6.4%

St. Stephens and Butner are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $74,739±$6kHighest 3% above NC $60,394±$7kLowest 17% below NC

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $231,100±$15kHighest 20% below NC $213,300±$15kLowest 26% below NC

Butner and St. Stephens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,307±$129Highest 6% above NC $958±$94Lowest 22% below NC

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,726Highest 9% below NC $985Lowest 48% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 41.1%±14.7Lowest NC: 48.9% 60.6%±20.3Highest NC: 48.9%

St. Stephens and Butner are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 15%Lowest NC: 13% 16.2%Highest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 73.8%Lowest NC: 66.6% 83.6%Highest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1991Highest same as NC 1977Lowest 14 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minHighest 4% below NC 22 minLowest 11% below NC

Work from home 12.2%±4Highest NC: 16.3% 5.5%±3.1Lowest NC: 16.3%

Butner and St. Stephens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 5.6%Highest 1.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.3 miHighest 7.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.45Highest 0.32Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Durham (24%)Hickory (30%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in St. StephensFew work in Butner

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 41.1%Highest 0.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 1.0 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1 1

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 23.3Lowest 38.1Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #112 of 252 in NC #63 of 252 in NC

School district Granville County SchoolsCatawba County Schools

High school in town Granville Early College HighSaint Stephens High

Students per teacherat that high school 31.4Highest 22.1Lowest

North Carolina average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Butner neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Butner’s Town Square.

St. Stephens neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to St. Stephens’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Butner and St. Stephens

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Bordering Butner

+ Compare

Creedmoor4,997 people · $281K homes

Towns like Butner

+ Compare

Walkertown5,873 people · $237K homes

+ Compare

Cherryville6,226 people · $232K homes

+ Compare

Conover8,580 people · $271K homes

+ Compare

Angier6,241 people · $268K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks North Carolina towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Butner vs St. Stephens

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $370 more a month in Butner

St. Stephens places higher on 11 of 19 NC lists

What daily life feels like in each

144 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Butner and St. Stephens

Bordering Butner

Towns like Butner

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