North Carolina City Has Some of the Best Quality of Life in 2024

Well, we sure did kick off this new year pretty great. 2024 has already had quite a few jaw-dropping moments to take place over the last two months. But, what else is to come... who knows? This year tons of people are also intrigued with wanting a better life overall for themselves. Yes, a better quality of life is always a great trend. Whether you want to live longer, become healthier after a sickness, or just prevent a sickness in general it's all a great want. Did you ever wonder what the quality of life is where you are?

Well, a few cities and states seem to be better than others. Not only is it about your overall lifestyle, but also where you call home that can take a toll on your life. U.S. News is naming the U.S. cities with the best quality of life in 2024. Luckily for us in North Carolina, there is one city that made the list. Coming in at #13 on the list was Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. This city has been one of the best and most recognized cities in our state for quite some time lately.

But, I guess there is one question that makes us wonder - why Raleigh/Durham? The city is growing and growing over the years due to job growth and opportunities. Not only are there plenty of jobs for people, but the overall quality of life is rising. From health care, diversity, education, and overall area everyone is being affected in a positive way. The famous tri-county area has seen a spike in the last few years and it looks like they aren't stopping anytime soon.

Finally, mortgage rates are declining, and homes seem to be staying on the market for longer than one weekend. Even still it's a tough time to try to purchase a home, especially in in-demand locations. Prices are still significantly higher than they were 3-4 years ago. As someone who is keeping a close eye on the market, I'm seeing prices more than $100,000 higher for comparable properties than in 2020. It's disheartening, to say the least. And this is of course because I'm looking in one of North Carolina's most in-demand locations to buy a home.

So what are those in-demand cities and towns where people are looking and that are getting significant attention online? Our friends at Bet Ohio decided to find out and they were nice enough to share their research with us. To conduct this research the team at Bet Ohio looked at cities across the country. They gave each city or town two scores. First was a "demand score". The demand score "represents an area's page viewers per property" compared to other areas. This score is in the format of X out of 100.

The second factor is "median days on the market". This is the median days property listings spend on the market before selling in that city. Both these metrics were weighted with a score of 50 to create a demand index score out of 100.

No North Carolina locations made the top 10 list in America, which is a bit surprising to me. Topping the list were the following 5 cities:

Keep reading to see North Carolina's 7 most in-demand locations to buy a home. Thanks to our friends at Bet Ohio for sharing their research with us. You can view the full list and study here.

Demand Score: 56.25

Median Days On The Market: 51.5

Demand Index Score: 60.51

Apex is a suburb of Raleigh, in Wake County. It's approximately 30 minutes from the capital city. Downtown Apex is designated a historic district. Apex is known for great schools and a good quality of living.

Demand Score: 65.88

Median Days On The Market: 46.0

Demand Index Score: 68.54

Durham, located in Durham County in the Triangle area of the state has seen a lot of recent growth. The downtown area has become a destination with bars, restaurants, and entertainment such as the Durham Bulls and DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center).

https://www.zillow.com/randleman-nc/

Demand Score: 77.58

Median Days On The Market: 58.1

Demand Index Score: 70.85

Randleman is the most surprising location on this list to me. It's a town in Randolph County south of Greensboro and not far from Asheboro. It's a small but growing town attributing to the demand for housing. In 2021 Randleman had a population of 4,631.

Demand Score: 76.30

Median Days On The Market: 46.3

Demand Index Score: 74.75

Our state's capital city ranked 4th on the most in-demand places to purchase a home. Raleigh continues to grow with a wealth of things to do for families and adults. The area has wonderful schools, and is home and closeby to several major universities.

Demand Score: 72.22

Median Days On The Market: 39.5

Demand Index Score: 74.94

Of course, Charlotte and Raleigh are back to back. In this case, Charlotte eclipsed Raleigh and I can personally attest to the difficult home-buying market. Charlotte is growing at an incredible rate with more than 100 people moving here daily.

Demand Score: 92.29

Median Days On The Market: 52.1

Demand Index Score: 82.15

There has been a lot of buzz about Hickory and what a great place it is to live lately. It also has received recognition for the affordability of homes- so it's no wonder those homes are in demand. In this town at the edge of the mountains, you're not too far from Charlotte, but you're also close to all the outdoor activities the Blue Ridge Mountains have to offer.

Demand Score: 85.36

Median Days On The Market: 39.9

Demand Index Score: 82.78

And topping the list? Cary, NC. Cary is a very high-demand suburb of Raleigh. Much to my surprise it was recently named the safest and cheapest place to live in NC. Safest I can completely see but Cary is generally known as one of the most wealthy parts of the Triangle, if not the state.