Is Briar Chapel, NC a Good Place to Live?
Briar Chapel is a small town of 5,332 in North Carolina, with a median household income of $153,300 and a 9.4% unemployment rate. Its cost of living index is 97 (US average = 100), which is 3% below the national average.
Strengths: Briar Chapel stands out for an affordable cost of living, a well-educated population.
Trade-offs: Potential downsides include high home prices, an elevated unemployment rate. Whether Briar Chapel is right for you depends on your priorities — the full breakdown is below.
All Briar Chapel city data on this page comes from official government sources — the US Census Bureau, FBI, NCES, BEA, and NOAA — updated annually.
Cost of Living
Index: 96.6Briar Chapel's overall cost of living index is 96.6, where 100 represents the US national average. Living in Briar Chapel costs roughly 3% less than the average American city.
| Metric | Briar Chapel, NC | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Median Home Value | $470,600 | $244,900 |
| Median Monthly Rent | $2,630 | $1,163 |
| Homeownership Rate | 91.4% | 65.9% |
| Median Household Income | $153,300 | $74,755 |
Crime & Safety
Very SafeBriar Chapel's violent crime rate is 171.9 per 100,000 residents — 55% lower than the national average of ~380 per 100,000.
Vertical marker = national average. Source: FBI UCR Program.
Schools & Education
| Metric | Briar Chapel, NC | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| School District | N/A | — |
| Elementary Schools | N/A | — |
| Middle Schools | N/A | — |
| High Schools | N/A | — |
| Student/Teacher Ratio | N/A | 16:1 |
| Bachelor's Degree or Higher | 80.0% | 35.4% |
| High School Diploma or Higher | 99.0% | 91.1% |
Weather & Climate
Briar Chapel sees average highs of 50.7°F in January and 89.5°F in July, with 49.5 inches of annual precipitation and 2.8 inches of snow per year.
| Metric | Briar Chapel, NC |
|---|---|
| Average High — January | 50.7°F |
| Average High — July | 89.5°F |
| Annual Precipitation | 49.5" |
| Annual Snowfall | 2.8" |
Demographics
| Metric | Briar Chapel, NC | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,332 | — |
| Median Age | 38.9 | 38.9 |
| Unemployment Rate | 9.4% | 3.7% |
| Avg Commute Time | 26.3 min | 26 min |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 79.3% | 59.3% |
| Black or African American | 4.3% | 13.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 3.6% | 18.9% |
| Asian | 4.8% | 6.3% |
| Under 18 | 30.1% | 22.2% |
| 65 and over | 17.1% | 16.8% |