Living in Durham NC

Affordable Cost of Living in Durham

According to bestplaces.net, Durham falls below the national average for affordability, ranking at 97.5, with 100 being the average. It’s important to keep in mind that the average takes into account all of the US, even places like Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas, which average around 10 people per square mile. For comparison’s sake, Durham has about 2600 people per square mile. Those places with very few people are much cheaper to live in, so just keep in mind that those national averages include those places. When you take that into consideration, living in Durham is pretty cheap and a lot of people are moving to Durham because it’s so affordable, especially compared to the places they are moving from. With the exception of Fayetteville, they’re all big cities: Washington DC, San Francisco, New York, LA, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Austin and San Deigo.

The Median Home Price in Durham is $400,000 in the last quarter of 2022. For an up to the moment report of the Durham housing market, see the Durham Market Report page.  

Living in Durham NC: Culture and Community 

When you live in Durham, you’ll discover quickly that the culture and community in Durham are shaped quite a bit by three things: Durham’s history as a tobacco town, Duke University, and Research Triangle Park.

Durham’s History

Today Durham is known as “The City of Medicine” thanks to the many health care and research institutions that call Durham home.  The Duke University Health System is today the largest employer in the city.  But before it was an academic research center it was dominated by the tobacco industry. You can see a lot of this history in so many of the cool things that give Durham an authentic and unique feel. 

After the Civil War, the success of the Bull Durham Tobacco Company and W. Duke and Sons Tobacco propelled the growth of Durham. The Duke family turned their attention to the growing industry of electricity after W Duke and Sons was broken up by Federal Antitrust laws before World War I. By establishing Duke Power and bringing electricity to Durham, textile mills moved in and doubled the growing population of Durham. 

Eventually, those tobacco and textile industries faded, but they left behind the building infrastructure that is now being revitalized into a thriving downtown: the American Tobacco Historic District, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, and DPAC, the Durham Performing Arts Center. It is also this history that gave the city it’s nickname: The Bull City. 

Duke University 

Duke University is a prestigious world class university that is considered one of the “Ivies of the South”.  It has had a significant impact on life in Durham NC and it’s growth historically and you still feel that impact today in the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of modern day life in Durham. Washington Duke, who founded Duke’s initial endowment, was a business mentor to black entrepreneur John Merrick. Merrick was born just before the Civil War so this was an unusual business relationship indeed. It isn’t surprising that Durham has been a breeding ground for creative startups. Washington Duke also was a financial supporter of NCCU (North Carolina Central University), Durham’s historically black college. 

Research Triangle Park

Many who chose to live in Durham make that choice because of its proximity to RTP. Research Triangle Park is a 7000 acre business park in Durham, and the largest high tech research and development park in the US. RTP was founded after World War II, when the economic health of the area was in decline. The economy had been founded upon agriculture, textiles and furniture and it was apparent that these industries were no longer enough to support the changing world. Academics from Duke and NC State created the innovation park at the center of the Triangle surrounding the 3 universities: Duke University, North Carolina State University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  RTP has become the backbone of the entire Triangle region, not just Durham. 

Living in Durham NC: Jobs

The economy is strong and job prospects are abundant in Durham, which makes moving to Durham a little easier. Research Triangle Park is home to over 300 companies, primarily technology and biotech companies. But technology isn’t the only industry in Durham. Because Duke is a major medical research school, the city is also home to Duke University Hospital which has over 11,000 employees. And the university itself provides employment for 400 academic staff and 8400 administrative staff. Other major employers are companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina with 4800 employees, Wolfspeed Semiconductor manufacturer and finance companies like Fidelity Investments. If you’re looking for a job before moving to Durham, you can find jobs organized by Durham’s most common industries here. 

Living in Durham NC: Education

Durham Colleges and Universities

Higher education is a significant part of life and culture when living in Durham NCwith Duke University, North Carolina Central University as well as Durham Tech Community College.  

Durham Public Schools

If you’re thinking of living in Durham, NC, it might be helpful to know that the highest ranking public K-12 schools in Durham are all magnet schools. These include City of Medicine Academy, Durham School of the Arts, Middle College High School at Durham Tech, JD Clement Early College High School, Lakewood Montessori Middle and Pearsontown Elementary.  

Durham Private Schools

Popular K-12 private schools are Durham Academy, Trinity School of Durham and Carolina Friends School. I find the most interesting school a K-8 school called the Duke School. It was founded as a project based lab school for the departments of psychology and education at Duke University, but eventually became an independent school, which it remains today. 

Durham Education Jobs

If you’re moving to Durham for a career in education, this is where you can find Durham Public Schools job openings. Or if you’re in higher education, you can find Duke job openings here. 

Living in Durham, NC Weather 

When you think about the weather in Durham you have to realize that weather is all relative. If you’re moving to Durham from southern California where the weather is fit for barbie dolls and hollywood stars, weather in Durham might seem less than ideal. But if you’re moving to Durham from the “cold dark north” as I like to call it, you can retire your snow shovel because you won’t be needing it…. Until that day that you do need it. Then you’ll drive to Lowes to get a snow shovel but they will all be sold out, because every other northerner left theirs up north as well. So keep your snow shovel, you might need it once every 20 years. Those who live in Durham NC will often say that if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. It’ll change.

Summer and Fall in Durham

We do have hot humid summers in Durham. But what exactly does that mean? In my opinion, the heat and humidity get uncomfortable in July and that lasts until about mid-September when you start to get your first low humidity days. Having said that, I lived for a year in Houston, and North Carolina heat is NOTHING like Houston heat. Remember when you were a kid and you would burn leaves outside with a magnifying glass. No, just me? Anyway, that is what it feels like to be in Texas in the summer.

Living in Durham NC is not even close to that. It does get hot, but even with the heat, moving to Durham is absolutely worth it because if you wait just a minute October is stunning, with low humidity, vibrant blue skies and gorgeous autumn color on the trees. If you’re not sure if you can handle the heat in summer, July and August are a great time to visit to see Durham at it’s worst. Just keep in mind that you do acclimate to different types of weather.

I used to hate the “cold” winters, because I grew up in Florida. After 22 years I absolutely love winter, love the cold and never feel uncomfortable in winter anymore. Part of that was adjusting to it by buying the right clothing. Just realize that there is an acclimation period and one visit might not tell you everything you need to know.

Winter and Spring in Durham

Living in Durham NC in the winter is very mild compared to just about anywhere except the few states to our south. But even at that, we get virtually no winter precipitation. Snow is rare. What we do get is ice or sleet or freezing rain. And these types of things are much more slippery than snow so when we get ice, the roads are usually shut down. This might happen once or twice in a typical winter. You can count on having at least one day of roads being closed and recommendations being for only first responders on the roads.

And all you people who move here from heavy snow areas that think you can drive on ice, will probably end up in a ditch somewhere off I-40. Please stay home when the news tells you to stay home. We can get temperatures into the 60’s on occasion throughout winter and most people do continue to get outdoors on our beautiful greenways and parks throughout the winter months. 

But after winter comes spring and for those of you who don’t come from areas with seasons, the trees actually turn PINK. Like a Dr Suess book. It’s amazing. 

Living in Durham NC: Food

Every year the national Good Food Awards judges restaurants across the US in categories such as cheese, chocolate, coffee,  desserts and really just about everything you can imagine eating. Durham won more awards than any other city or town in the Triangle. They won more than Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville and even Washington DC.

Fullsteam Brewery won for their Common Good Malt, Valley Brook Farms won for their bread and butter pickle chips and their brandied peach jam and The Spicy Hermit won for their butternut squash Kimchi. Apparently Durham is into fermentation, which is pretty cool. I wonder who’s got the best sourdough? But if you’re looking for iconic Durham food, you need to check out Dame’s Chicken and Waffles. You can’t go to Durham without visiting it.

And if you’re looking for all the best Durham restaurants, don’t miss Amber Watson’s incredible food blog….is the technical name for a food blog a flog? I’m not sure, but if you’re looking for great food, you’ll find it at Bites of Bull City! 

Durham Sports 

One of the best things about living in Durham NC is the college sports scene. Durham is home to two world famous sports teams.  The Duke University Blue Devils Men’s Basketball team is consistently a contender for the NCAA title.  With its long history of success some of the very best high school recruits from across the country come to play in the famous Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Sports Illustrated put the stadium at the number four spot on its list of top 20 sporting venues in the 20th century.  It’s small, so if you want to attend one of the rivalry games, you’re going to have to wait in a long line!  The Tobacco Road rivalries between Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, and NC State University are a big deal here.  

The Durham Bulls minor league baseball team was made famous in the 1988 movie, Bull Durham, starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon.  The Bulls are a family staple in Durham with many theme nights catering to the kids.  The new Durham Bulls stadium was built right in the middle of downtown, so a night out at the game can be easily followed by dinner in one of Durham’s fabulous restaurants.  Of course with both Duke and North Carolina Central University in town, college sports aren’t limited to Blue Devil basketball.  If you need a major league sports team, the Carolina Hurricanes live in nearby Raleigh.

Live Music

Durham is known for its music and arts scene. The entire Triangle travels to Durham for DPAC, the premier Triangle area performing arts center in the region. DPAC, welcomes artists from around the world as well as touring Broadway productions. Throughout the summer there are free performances at the American Tobacco Campus, Streets of Southpoint, Duke Gardens, Brightleaf Square and Durham Central Park. There are numerous festivals that take place throughout Durham like the Festival for the Eno and the Durham Blues and Brews Festival.  If you live in Durham chances are you’ll find your music fix.

Enjoying the Outdoors when Living in Durham 

Like all the other areas in the Triangle, living in Durham puts you in close proximity to both the North Carolina Beaches and the Mountains.  It’s less than two and half hours to Wrightsville Beach and about three hours to Beaufort where the wild horses live on Shackleford Banks. You are less than two hours from Hanging Rock State Park and if you really need mountains just another thirty to forty minutes will get you to Boone and all the mountain activities from hiking to skiing that surround Boone.

But if you want to stay closer to home, Durham has you covered with the Eno River State Park and the American Tobacco Trail.  The Eno River State Park is just fifteen minutes outside of downtown Durham.  Not only can you go camping over the weekend, you can go hike the trails and enjoy the quiet serenity of the river without giving up your whole day.  The American Tobacco Trail is a 22 mile mixed use trail running from Durham south into Chatham and Wake counties.  

Walkers, runners, bicyclists, and equestrians all use this trail year round to enjoy our great North Carolina weather.  You are also only twenty minutes from both Falls Lake and Jordan Lake.  Whether you’re looking to hike, bike, fish, or sail Durham puts you in the middle of it.  And I almost forgot, the Sarah P Duke Gardens.  This public garden was established over 80 years ago and ecompasses 55 acres with 5 miles of trails within the park.  Admission is free, but parking is not.  It’s two dollars an hour to park.

Shopping in Durham, NC

There are a couple of major shopping centers in Durham. If you’re going to live here in Durham, you won’t have to travel far to get to the major retail centers. The great thing about the Triangle area is that everything is relatively close. If Durham doesn’t have what you’re looking for, Raleigh is just a few minutes away. (We tell people looking in Raleigh the same thing.)

Brier Creek 

Brier Creek is the biggest one and it sits right on the border of Raleigh and Durham near the airport. This is one of those shopping areas where everything is mixed use so there is a decent amount of housing here. There are actually about 20,000 people that live in Brier Creek. This is where you can find all your big box stores and tons of restaurants. You can see homes for sale in Brier Creek on this page.

Streets of Southpoint

Streets of Southpoint is in south Durham and it’s also a mixed use shopping center. It has a lot of the same big box stores as Brier Creek, but it also has a mall. The Southpoint mall is probably the best mall in the whole Triangle area as well. If you want really good stores you come here. It’s the only shopping area that has a Nordstrom in the Triangle as well. And Southpoint is just north of RTP, so this is a great area to live in if you’re going to be commuting to RTP for work.

Grocery Stores

In other Triangle cities, grocery stores are luxurious. They tend to be big chain stores like Harris Teeter, Wegman’s, Lowes Foods, Whole Foods as well as trendy discount stores with big followings like Trader Joes, Aldi and Lidl. But most of the stores are not like this in Durham. There is one Whole Foods, and several Food Lions and Harris Teeters. But mostly what you have are stores you’ve never heard of. You’ve got trendy little independent grocers like the Durham Market Co-op and the Bulldega Urban Market. 

You’ve also got much lesser known family owned chain markets like Compare Foods and Kings Red and White. These stores look like you’ve stepped back in time about 50 years. But if you read through the reviews, you’ll see gold. Kings makes their own jams, butters and marmalades, and everyone comments on how clean the stores are and how fresh the food is. And if you think about it, grocery stores must spend a fortune on cosmetic updates. What these stores save on that, they make up for in prices. One reviewer says it like this: “bought candied fruit last week for 7.29 at food lion.  They [kings] charge 2.29.  a lot cheaper in a lot of things and wonderful local fruits and vegetables.”