Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Davidson grades A overall, ranked 10th of 286 in North Carolina. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 93% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $167K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $650K for a typical one and 7.8 times the Charlotte metro’s $83K median household income. 76% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Davidson, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 29% and U.S. towns at 29%. Only 5 of North Carolina’s 450 towns score higher on walkability. Davidson is home to Davidson College.
Where Davidson beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Davidson | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.7% | 15.2% |
Census counts: 391 in 1880, 15,106 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1849 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Davidson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Davidson. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaBank of America Stadium
6 mi LakeLake Norman
27 mi Theme parkCarowinds19 mi MuseumSullenberger Aviation Museum70K visitors a year
19 mi Stadium & arenaBojangles Coliseum12 mi TheatreTruliant AmphitheaterBank of America Stadium: HangingCurve, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Norman: Prince Grobhelm, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carowinds: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bojangles Coliseum: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Davidson, 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 Davidson.
Davidson is among the three healthiest towns in North Carolina and carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of North Carolina (mostly inland flooding), but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of North Carolina.
At 7.8 years of the Charlotte metro’s $83K median household income, the typical home (about $650K) costs more against local pay than in 94% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $4,668, against $1,896 across North Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Davidson is $1,652 a month. The typical Davidson home is worth about $650,000, about the same as a year ago, 96% above the North Carolina typical home. 80% of Davidson households own their home.
| Davidson | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,652 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Community School of Davidson. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Community School of Davidson, with 1,631 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson K-8 SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,185 | A |
| Community School of DavidsonLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 1,631 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
8.6 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. Davidson’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is West Branch Nature Preserve, at 90 acres.
| Davidson | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.1% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Davidson Nature Preserve | 0.3 mi | 9 |
| 2. West Branch Nature Preserve | 0.2 mi | 90 |
| 3. Roosevelt Wilson Park | 0.1 mi | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
It ranks #3 of the 289 North Carolina towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with North Carolina is food insecurity: 6.7% of its 11,909 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.2% statewide.
24% of adults have obesity in Davidson. Davidson beats the North Carolina average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of adults have high blood pressure in Davidson.
| Davidson | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.3% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Davidson | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.7% | 15.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.9% | 8.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.9% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
Only 2 of the 153 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Davidson.
| Davidson | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 99% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $77 per resident a year; that rating is what its B− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2019, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Davidson.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Davidson 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
Jobs based here grew from 5,329 in 2013 to 8,539. 30.7% of workers work from home, against 16.3% across North Carolina.
Most working residents leave Davidson for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2013, Davidson has added 3,210 jobs, to 8,539 in 2023. Among 290 North Carolina towns, just 3 have a higher median household income than Davidson.
| Davidson | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 31% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $167,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
3 within 15 miles of the center of Davidson
College town 16 of every 100 Davidson residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
10,944 counted in 2010 and 15,106 in 2020; an estimated 16,662 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 10% since 2020, after 38% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
6 places in Davidson on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Davidson.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Davidson is a suburban town in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, North Carolina, United States. Some areas of neighboring Cabarrus County also use a Davidson postal address, but are not within the town limits. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 15,106 at the 2020 census, up from 10,944 in 2010. The town was founded in 1837 with the establishment of the Presbyterian Davidson College, named for Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, a local Revolutionary War hero. The land for Davidson College came from Davidson's estate, a large portion of which was donated by his son.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Davidson.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | #10 | A | D | A | B− | A+ |
| Cornelius | #32 | B+ | D | B | B− | A+ |
| Kannapolis | #125 | C+ | C+ | C+ | B+ | B− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Davidson grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #10 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
3 notable people were born here, including Will Grier and Mary T. Martin Sloop.
