Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Morrisville costs more to live in than 72% of U.S. towns
It ranks #213 of 290 in North Carolina for affordability. Down 4.7% in a year, 42% above the North Carolina typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area ($100K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Morrisville’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($100K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 14% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 25% of renters.
In dollars
- $472Ktypical home, 42% above the North Carolina typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,230a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 98prices across the Raleigh metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 103)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 5.2 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$100K, Raleigh-area income
- 22%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 25%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across North Carolina: 49%Census 2020–24
- 14%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Morrisville
Rent is easier on renters here
25% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 49% across North Carolina. A standard two-bedroom is 21% of the median household income. Renting ↓
Prices are 11% below their 2022 peak
The typical Morrisville home peaked at $527K in July 2022 and is worth about $472K now. Across North Carolina, values are at or near their high. Over five years, Morrisville is still up 14%. Price trend ↓
Most Morrisville households rent
55% of households rent their home, 6,585 in all, against 33% across North Carolina. Renting ↓
2026 has already passed 2025
Through August, Morrisville had permitted 937 new homes in 2026, more than the 307 in all of 2025. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Morrisville’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Morrisville is more affordable than 28% of U.S. towns, #213 of 290 in North Carolina. Home prices pull the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Values have lagged North Carolina: the typical Morrisville home is up 14.2% in five years, against 22.0% statewide (Zillow).
Down 4.7% in a year
Slower than North Carolina (-0.2%).
Show as a table
| January | Morrisville | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $300,000 | $178,000 |
| 2018 | $315,000 | $189,000 |
| 2019 | $329,000 | $201,000 |
| 2020 | $336,000 | $214,000 |
| 2021 | $356,000 | $240,000 |
| 2022 | $454,000 | $285,000 |
| 2023 | $496,000 | $318,000 |
| 2024 | $503,000 | $330,000 |
| 2025 | $509,000 | $336,000 |
| 2026 | $486,000 | $334,000 |
| September 2026 | $472,000 | $332,000 |
A typical Morrisville home worth $293K in August 2016 is worth about $472K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 16 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 5.2 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Morrisville’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $76K short of a typical Morrisville home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,230 a month here, $550 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Morrisville’s typical property tax (0.79% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,230
Renters already here pay a median of $1,858, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Durham-Chapel Hill, NC HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
307 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 307 new homes in Morrisville in 2025: 5 single-family houses and 302 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $58.4 million to build. That's 9.8 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of North Carolina as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Morrisville has permitted 4,405 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Morrisville gained 11,054 residents while 4,977 new homes were permitted: about 2.2 new residents per new home, about the same as across North Carolina (1.7).
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 937 | 1 | 936 | $179.2 million |
| 2025 | 307 | 5 | 302 | $58.4 million |
| 2024 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $13 million |
| 2023 | 342 | 6 | 336 | $60.2 million |
| 2022 | 373 | 34 | 339 | $64.2 million |
| 2021 | 242 | 180 | 62 | $42.5 million |
| 2020 | 662 | 118 | 544 | $84.7 million |
| 2019 | 686 | 125 | 561 | $82.6 million |
| 2018 | 600 | 282 | 318 | $60.1 million |
| 2017 | 423 | 240 | 183 | $53.6 million |
| 2016 | 726 | 264 | 462 | $79.9 million |
| 2015 | 486 | 486 | 0 | $62.9 million |
| 2014 | 451 | 451 | 0 | $63.6 million |
| 2013 | 372 | 372 | 0 | $58 million |
| 2012 | 646 | 386 | 260 | $68.4 million |
| 2011 | 368 | 368 | 0 | $58.6 million |
| 2010 | 219 | 219 | 0 | $28.1 million |
| 2009 | 274 | 274 | 0 | $32.4 million |
| 2008 | 241 | 241 | 0 | $36.3 million |
| 2007 | 218 | 194 | 24 | $45.2 million |
| 2006 | 538 | 272 | 266 | $57.8 million |
| 2005 | 207 | 207 | 0 | $35.9 million |
| 2004 | 378 | 370 | 8 | $48.8 million |
| 2003 | 545 | 545 | 0 | $61.8 million |
| 2002 | 637 | 613 | 24 | $69.7 million |
| 2001 | 373 | 357 | 16 | $41.1 million |
| 2000 | 507 | 411 | 96 | $52.6 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the North Carolina norm
The median bill is $4,078 (North Carolina: $1,896), 0.79% of a home’s value a year, against 0.66% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Morrisville
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area, or North Carolina. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 98 | NC 94 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 97 | NC 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 89 | NC 89 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 98 | NC 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Morrisville vs. its neighbors
Of the 3 towns here with a Zillow value, Morrisville has the 2nd-lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morrisville | C | $472K | $519K | 0.79% | $2,230 |
| Cary | C− | $613K | $580K | 0.71% | $1,970 |
| Durham | C− | $385K | $393K | 0.83% | $1,790 |
Questions about the cost of living in Morrisville
Is Morrisville expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Morrisville costs more than 72% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #213 of 290 in North Carolina. The typical home costs 5.2 years of the median household income of the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area ($100K).
How much does a house cost in Morrisville?
About $472K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 4.7% in a year. The North Carolina typical home is $332K.
What salary do you need to live in Morrisville?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $119,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,780 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $89,000.
How much is rent in Morrisville?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,230 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,858 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Morrisville?
The median bill is $4,078 a year, 0.79% of the median home value (North Carolina: $1,896, 0.66%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Morrisville going up?
No: down 4.7% in the past year and 14.2% in five years, against 22.0% across North Carolina (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Morrisville buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.