What is the #1 best cities for families in north carolina?

#	City	Population	Family Score
1	Asheville	94,369	86.30
2	Atlantic Beach	1,705	84.40
3	Durham	288,465	82.40
4	Pineville	10,780	82.30
5	Raleigh	470,763	81.20
6	Wilmington	118,578	81.00
7	Greensboro	298,564	77.10
8	Southern Pines	16,052	74.20
9	Morehead City	9,696	73.30
10	Carrboro	21,170	72.80
11	Wingate	4,169	72.60
12	Chapel Hill	59,889	72.40
13	Belmont	15,140	71.40
14	Goldsboro	33,448	71.20
15	Greenville	88,540	70.60
16	Hendersonville	15,253	70.50
17	Hillsborough	9,656	69.80
18	Winston-Salem	250,887	69.70
19	Waynesville	10,408	69.50
20	Fayetteville	209,692	69.00
21	Boiling Spring Lakes	6,206	68.70
22	Wadesboro	4,966	68.60
23	Elkin	4,025	68.30
24	Dunn	8,512	67.30
25	Burlington	58,599	67.30
26	Brevard	7,795	67.30
27	Woodfin	7,957	66.80
28	Gastonia	81,632	66.80
29	Beaufort	4,613	66.40
30	Salisbury	35,730	66.40
31	Shelby	21,868	66.30
32	Plymouth	3,264	66.20
33	Roxboro	8,144	66.20
34	Scotland Neck	2,087	65.60
35	Murphy	1,356	65.50
36	Kinston	19,576	65.30
37	Sylva	2,600	65.30
38	Enfield	1,967	64.50
39	Statesville	29,161	64.10
40	Williamston	5,157	63.90
41	Elizabethtown	3,294	63.90
42	Nags Head	3,164	63.60
43	Wrightsville Beach	2,679	63.60
44	Garner	32,543	63.60
45	Carolina Beach	6,665	63.60
46	Maggie Valley	2,311	63.50
47	Henderson	14,922	63.00
48	Bryson City	1,676	63.00
49	Pembroke	2,823	62.80
50	Surf City	4,160	62.80
51	Wilson	47,740	62.70
52	High Point	115,263	62.60
53	Rocky Mount	54,175	62.50
54	Wilson's Mills	2,652	62.10
55	New Bern	31,563	62.00
56	Aberdeen	8,969	61.80
57	Monroe	35,596	61.60
58	Hickory	43,747	61.50
59	Kernersville	27,439	61.30
60	Farmville	4,493	61.20
61	Washington	9,754	60.90
62	Asheboro	27,353	60.70
63	Graham	17,537	60.40
64	Beulaville	1,438	60.40
65	Oxford	8,897	60.20
66	Reidsville	14,547	60.10
67	Mebane	18,899	59.90
68	Four Oaks	2,372	59.70
69	Murfreesboro	2,814	59.70
70	Tryon	1,713	59.30
71	Highlands	1,276	59.00
72	Wallace	3,438	58.90
73	Kings Mountain	11,472	58.50
74	Kill Devil Hills	7,727	58.30
75	St. Pauls	2,628	58.10
76	Ahoskie	4,798	57.90
77	Manteo	1,853	57.80
78	Lumberton	19,220	57.80
79	Black Mountain	8,462	57.40
80	Mars Hill	2,738	57.30
81	Clinton	8,336	57.30
82	Elizabeth City	18,740	57.10
83	Rockwell	2,688	56.90
84	Hertford	1,703	56.90
85	Burnsville	2,143	56.70
86	Louisburg	3,128	56.60
87	Albemarle	16,527	56.60
88	Erwin	4,617	56.40
89	Selma	6,611	56.20
90	Tarboro	10,705	56.20
91	Warsaw	2,728	56.10
92	Canton	4,417	56.10
93	Benson	4,144	55.90
94	Lincolnton	11,503	55.70
95	Rutherfordton	3,669	55.70
96	Lillington	4,683	55.60
97	Mount Olive	4,204	55.50
98	North Wilkesboro	4,348	55.50
99	Hope Mills	17,823	55.20
100	Smithfield	11,798	55.20
101	Boonville	1,502	55.10
102	Wilkesboro	3,664	55.00
103	Yadkinville	2,986	54.80
104	Laurinburg	15,079	54.80
105	Newport	4,428	54.80
106	Lake Lure	1,488	54.70
107	Andrews	1,976	54.30
108	Fairmont	2,326	54.10
109	Roanoke Rapids	15,024	54.10
110	Boone	19,534	54.10
111	Spring Lake	11,613	53.90
112	Mount Airy	10,631	53.90
113	Cramerton	5,376	53.70
114	Banner Elk	1,338	53.30
115	Pittsboro	4,640	53.10
116	Eden	15,353	52.80
117	Claremont	2,051	52.70
118	Chadbourn	1,347	52.50
119	Clyde	1,522	52.40
120	Whiteville	4,721	52.20
121	Coats	2,029	52.00
122	Zebulon	7,961	51.70
123	Mooresville	51,447	51.70
124	Shallotte	4,465	51.40
125	Ayden	5,035	51.10
126	Sunset Beach	4,326	51.00
127	Creedmoor	4,957	51.00
128	Cherryville	6,154	50.80
129	Dobson	1,521	50.30
130	Morrisville	30,471	50.30
131	Newton	13,223	50.10
132	Hamlet	6,000	50.00
133	Forest City	7,368	49.90
134	Pinehurst	17,992	49.70
135	Ranlo	4,556	49.70
136	Marshville	2,586	49.70
137	East Spencer	1,309	49.70
138	Cornelius	32,009	49.40
139	Siler City	7,905	49.10
140	Morganton	17,541	48.90
141	Kitty Hawk	3,721	48.50
142	Pinetops	1,323	48.30
143	Weaverville	4,618	48.20
144	Mocksville	6,001	48.00
145	Matthews	29,959	47.50
146	Pilot Mountain	1,584	47.50
147	Haw River	2,581	47.30
148	Spencer	3,305	47.30
149	Red Springs	3,107	47.30
150	Knightdale	19,532	47.20
151	Lexington	19,691	46.90
152	Long View	4,967	46.90
153	Huntersville	62,458	46.70
154	Lowell	3,711	46.60
155	Jacksonville	73,507	46.60
156	Angier	5,746	46.40
157	Dallas	6,012	46.40
158	Conover	8,491	46.10
159	Elon	11,325	45.90
160	Bessemer City	5,508	45.80
161	Sharpsburg	1,629	45.70
162	Concord	106,518	45.20
163	Vass	1,092	45.20
164	Thomasville	27,261	44.80
165	Gibsonville	9,289	44.30
166	Leland	26,307	44.30
167	Jonesville	2,782	44.30
168	Clayton	28,043	43.90
169	Emerald Isle	3,915	43.90
170	Spring Hope	1,334	43.80
171	Cary	176,686	43.60
172	Rockingham	9,094	43.50
173	Laurel Park	2,391	43.50
174	Jefferson	1,852	43.40
175	Wake Forest	51,199	43.40
176	Oak Island	8,888	43.30
177	Franklinton	2,562	43.30
178	Butner	7,996	43.10
179	Burgaw	3,249	43.10
180	Randleman	4,611	43.00
181	Sanford	30,833	42.40
182	Davidson	14,852	42.10
183	Lake Royale	2,959	42.10
184	Kannapolis	56,470	42.00
185	West Jefferson	1,567	41.90
186	Stanley	4,014	41.70
187	Grifton	2,661	41.60
188	Lenoir	18,282	41.30
189	Franklin	4,221	41.30
190	Kenansville	1,157	41.20
191	Wendell	11,585	41.20
192	Spruce Pine	2,381	41.20
193	Edenton	4,480	41.10
194	Troutman	3,813	41.00
195	China Grove	4,487	40.20
196	Mayodan	2,446	40.10
197	Raeford	4,545	39.90
198	Holden Beach	1,047	39.60
199	Carthage	2,840	39.30
200	Fuquay-Varina	37,749	39.30
201	Archdale	11,992	39.20
202	Belhaven	1,421	39.20
203	Cape Carteret	2,598	38.80
204	Mount Holly	17,928	38.70
205	Mint Hill	26,954	38.50
206	Taylorsville	2,386	38.40
207	Havelock	16,471	38.40
208	Tabor City	3,695	38.40
209	Apex	67,765	38.30
210	Holly Springs	43,429	38.30
211	Windsor	3,417	37.90
212	Southport	4,143	37.90
213	King	7,345	37.70
214	Holly Ridge	4,532	37.40
215	Richlands	2,387	37.20
216	Columbus	1,166	37.00
217	Cleveland	1,053	36.90
218	Waxhaw	21,565	36.60
219	Chocowinity	1,090	36.60
220	Stallings	16,495	36.50
221	Southern Shores	3,119	36.30
222	Valdese	4,689	36.10
223	Granite Falls	4,921	36.10
224	Middlesex	1,005	36.00
225	Fletcher	8,022	35.40
226	Madison	2,198	34.90
227	Granite Quarry	3,015	34.70
228	Navassa	2,148	34.70
229	Rolesville	10,200	34.60
230	Pine Knoll Shores	1,387	34.20
231	Swansboro	3,887	34.20
232	Bethel	1,528	34.00
233	Troy	2,905	34.00
234	Winterville	10,624	34.00
235	Biltmore Forest	1,536	33.80
236	Broadway	1,429	33.20
237	Snow Hill	2,102	33.00
238	Whispering Pines	5,081	32.80
239	Youngsville	2,581	32.70
240	Nashville	5,672	32.40
241	Bladenboro	2,181	31.90
242	Pinebluff	1,723	31.60
243	Pine Level	2,072	30.80
244	Trent Woods	4,086	30.80
245	Star	1,430	30.70
246	Maxton	2,398	30.00
247	Marion	7,594	29.90
248	Robersonville	1,319	28.50
249	Liberty	2,678	28.40
250	Stoneville	1,213	28.40
251	Foxfire	1,730	27.40
252	Mount Gilead	1,166	27.40
253	Princeton	1,543	25.30
254	Biscoe	2,259	25.10
255	Drexel	1,862	24.70
256	Hudson	3,777	24.20
257	Maiden	3,777	21.10
258	Rose Hill	1,501	20.50
259	Ramseur	2,061	17.20
260	Weldon	1,522	15.60
261	Magnolia	1,109	14.80
262	Robbins	1,398	12.80
263	Candor	1,284	12.60

Methodology

Cities in North Carolina are ranked by family score. Only cities with populations above 1,000 are included. Data sourced from Multiple Sources. Last updated 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the #1 best cities for families in north carolina?: Asheville ranks #1 with 86.30 (family score).
What are the top 5 best cities for families in north carolina?: 1. Asheville (86.30), 2. Atlantic Beach (84.40), 3. Durham (82.40), 4. Pineville (82.30), 5. Raleigh (81.20)
How many cities in North Carolina are ranked?: This ranking includes 263 cities in North Carolina with available data.

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