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%

Fountain$1,020/mo

Typical home $166K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.07% · or rent about $725/mo · Housing →

Macclesfield$980/mo

Typical home $158K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.16% · or rent about $796/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

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.

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

FountainMacclesfield

Snow a year3″5″

January low33°F 30°F

July high90°F 89°F

Growing season (days)227d 226d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)73rd 58th

Outdoors & history

FountainMacclesfield

National Register places1 —

Community

FountainMacclesfield

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

6 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

FountainMacclesfield

Fountain ↔ Macclesfield5.9 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

FountainMacclesfield

People

Population 409Highest 391Lowest

Median age 36.1±10Highest 8% below NC 30.8±2.5Lowest 21% below NC

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

Kids under 18 24.4%±11.2Lowest NC: 21.8% 32.7%±6.3Highest NC: 21.8%

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

Age 65+ 12.5%±7Lowest NC: 17.2% 14.1%±7.5Highest NC: 17.2%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 23.3%Highest NC: 35.7% 17.1%Lowest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 7.1%±8.9Highest NC: 6.4% 6.4%±8.4Lowest NC: 6.4%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian — $56,000±$29k 23% below NC

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $134,700±$69kLowest 53% below NC $135,200±$8kHighest 53% below NC

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $725±$151Lowest 41% below NC $796±$228Highest 35% below NC

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,438Lowest 24% below NC $1,566Highest 17% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 84.5%±18.5Highest NC: 48.9% 60%±46.7Lowest NC: 48.9%

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

Below poverty line 57.7%Highest NC: 13% 18.9%Lowest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 53.3%Lowest NC: 66.6% 57.9%Highest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1961Lowest 30 yrs older than NC 1972Highest 19 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 17 minLowest 31% below NC 28 minHighest 12% above NC

Work from home 9.8%±11.9Highest NC: 16.3% 0%±9.7Lowest NC: 16.3%

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

Work in townworking residents 1.5%Highest 0.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 16.8 miLowest 20.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.38Highest 0.17Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Greenville (28%)Tarboro (11%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MacclesfieldFew work in Fountain

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 41.5Lowest 62.3Highest

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.

Fountain neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Fountain’s Town Square.

Macclesfield neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Macclesfield’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Fountain

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Whitakers494 people · $148K homes

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Trenton319 people · $177K homes

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Calypso385 people · $99K homes

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Pikeville776 people · $141K homes

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.

Fountain vs Macclesfield

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

6 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Fountain and Macclesfield

Towns like Fountain

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