Carrboro is #1 in North Carolina for trails
Carrboro is ranked on 37 lists against the 297 North Carolina towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 3 and the top quarter on 13.
A podium finish, and more
Each list ranks every NC town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Carrboro marked.
1 spot from the top 25 for working from home
Lists where Carrboro sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Carrboro lands in the top half on 18 of 23 lists
Each dot is Carrboro’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in NC, the right end is last. Areas where Carrboro does best come first.
Fewer seniors than 92% of North Carolina
Not better or worse, just Carrboro’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Carrboro out-ranks every neighbor it can be compared with
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Carrboro lands in every NC ranking
38 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
People
B Most educated#1 Briar Chapel · 81.6% #8
Youngest#1 Cullowhee · 21.0
#32
Oldest#1 Sunset Beach · 69.1
#265
S
Most residents 65+#1 St. James · 62.8%
#271
Most kids#1 Whispering Pines · 34.6%
#168 Health
Healthiest#1 Morrisville · 100 / 100
#14
Lowest obesity#1 Morrisville · 22%
#13
Fewest smokers#1 Morrisville · 7%
#14
Most active#1 Wrightsville Beach · 13%
#9
S
Fewest uninsured#1 St. James · 4%
#62
Lowest depression#1 Morrisville · 19%
#139
Closest to a top hospital#1 Winston-Salem · 0.0 mi
#24 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Spring Lake · 81.9%
#30
Most trails#1 Carrboro · 4.5 mi / sq mi
#1
Most walkable#1 Carolina Beach · 134 / sq mi
#32 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Jamestown · 13.4 min
#119 
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 La Grange · 1.2 yrs
#279
Cheapest rent#1 Edenton · $388/mo
#225
E
Lowest property tax#1 Emma · $518/yr
#296
Rent easiest to afford#1 Morrisville · 24.8%
#68 
The number on the right is Carrboro’s spot. All of North Carolina’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every NC list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.