Should I Move To
Roughly 284,094 people live in Durham, North Carolina. Living here costs moderate relative to the rest of the country, essentially matching the national average. Median rent runs about $1,296/mo; the typical household pulls in $74,710. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 61/100 — a C+, putting it at #124 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Durham sits at 98 — moderate when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($1,296/mo against $74,710 median household income), housing eats roughly 21% of a typical paycheck — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Buying-side, the median home value is $316,600.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is four-season: roughly 89°F in summer, 33°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 46 inches. Walkability varies a lot by neighborhood — denser pockets work fine on foot, the rest leans on driving. Crime runs notably high by national standards. As always, neighborhood-level data tells a more nuanced story than the citywide figure. AQI runs about 38 — a "good" reading.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Durham is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 61/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is education (84/100); the soft spot is safety (23/100).
For retirees, Durham is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 61/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is education (84/100); the soft spot is safety (23/100).
For remote workers, Durham is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 63/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is education (84/100); the soft spot is safety (23/100).
For young professionals, Durham is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 60/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is education (84/100); the soft spot is safety (23/100).
Our overall score for Durham is 61/100 — a C+, sitting at #124 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Durham sits at 98 — moderate, essentially matching the national average. Median renter pays around $1,296 a month.
Durham runs four-season on the weather. Summer's near 89°F, winter's near 33°F; 46 inches of precipitation annually.
Walk Score: 61/100. Walkability varies a lot by neighborhood — denser pockets work fine on foot, the rest leans on driving.
Roughly 284,094 people live here, with 54% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 35.
Drop Durham into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Durham with other North Carolina cities scored on UrbRank.
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