Median home price:
$174,000
Median family income:
$76,255
Along with Durham and Chapel Hill, Raleigh forms the Research Triangle, an area rich with tech companies -- including Cisco, IBM and SAS Institute -- and big drug companies-- like GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.
There are also great universities, including Duke University, University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University. Post-graduation, many students stick around -- and they can afford to. Housing runs close to the national median of $170,000, but salaries are higher than national norms.
Residents get a lot of bang for their buck, including great public schools, lots of parks and trails, a performing arts center and art galleries.
See complete data and interactive map for Raleigh
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