Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Carrboro grades B overall, 57th of 286 graded towns in North Carolina. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 96% of the country and its public schools beat 87% of North Carolina towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $413K for a typical one and 4.9 times the Durham metro’s $84K median household income. 70% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Carrboro, above both North Carolina’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). On the outdoors, just 13 of North Carolina’s 451 towns do better. Carrboro has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Alberta Mill Complex and Carrboro Commercial Historic District.
Where Carrboro beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Carrboro | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.8% | 7.1% |
12.4% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Carrboro is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 4%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,129 in 1920, 21,295 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1939 and 4 maps from 1946 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Carrboro. Close and well known come first.
3 mi Stadium & arenaKenan Memorial Stadium
22 mi Stadium & arenaLenovo Center
22 mi Stadium & arenaCarter–Finley Stadium
3 mi Stadium & arenaDean Smith Center
10 mi LandmarkBennett Place State Historic Site
21 mi Stadium & arenaWakeMed Soccer ParkKenan Memorial Stadium: Yeungb, CC BY 3.0 · Lenovo Center: Edward T. Funkhouser, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carter–Finley Stadium: SMaloney, CC BY 3.0 · Dean Smith Center: No machine-readable author provided. Snargle~commonswiki assumed (based on copyr, Public domain · Bennett Place State Historic Site: Ildar Sagdejev (Specious), CC BY-SA 4.0 · WakeMed Soccer Park: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carrboro, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Carrboro.
Carrboro has schools in the top 5% of North Carolina, is one of North Carolina’s best towns for the outdoors and has less COPD than most of North Carolina.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #8 of 290 in North Carolina.
The trail density in Carrboro is 4.5 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Henry Anderson III Community Park, 54 acres with 1.7 miles of trail. 29 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Henry Anderson III Community Park | 1.7 mi | 54 |
| 2. Adams Tract | 0.8 mi | 28 |
| 3. Martin Luther King Jr. Park | 0.4 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A ranks #1 of the 290 North Carolina towns we grade for schools. Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $413K.
Its public schools are run by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDougle MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 659 | A− |
| Carrboro HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 885 | A− |
| Morris Grove ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 383 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with North Carolina is COPD: 3.8% of its 16,751 adults have COPD, against 7.1% statewide.
26% of adults have high blood pressure in Carrboro. Among 289 North Carolina towns, just 9 have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Carrboro. 28% of adults have obesity in Carrboro.
| Carrboro | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 13% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Carrboro | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.8% | 7.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.6% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 70% | 76.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
27.2% of workers work from home, against 16.3% across North Carolina.
Most working residents leave Carrboro for work: only 7% work in town. 27% of Carrboro workers work from home. Jobs based in Carrboro grew to 4,714 in 2023, 755 more than in 2013.
| Carrboro | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 13% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Carrboro’s property crime rate is 19.1 per 1,000 residents. Within North Carolina, it does better than 60% of towns.
| Carrboro | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.1 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median property tax bill is $6,888, against $1,896 across North Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Carrboro home is worth about $413,000, down 3.5% in a year, 24% above the North Carolina typical home.
| Carrboro | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,470 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Carrboro has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 30° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 40 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carrboro.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
5 within 15 miles of the center of Carrboro
College town 17 of every 100 Carrboro residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Where Carrboro’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Carrboro on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census. The town, which is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill combined statistical area, was named after North Carolina industrialist Julian S. Carr. Located directly west of Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina's flagship campus, Carrboro has a reputation as one of the most progressive communities in the Southeastern United States. It was the first municipality in North Carolina to elect an openly gay mayor (Michael R. Nelson in 1995) and the first municipality in the state to grant domestic-partner benefits to same-sex couples. In October 2002, Carrboro was a…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Carrboro.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrboro | #57 | B | D− | C | A | A+ |
| Chapel Hill | #46 | B+ | D− | C | A | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Carrboro grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #57 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A+ for health, C for safety and A for schools, and has the most trail per square mile in the state. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 60% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
