North Carolina is home to a place so desirable, it was crowned a winner two separate times, new rankings show.
Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, was named the nation’s No. 1 hottest suburb. It also topped a separate list of the most attractive U.S. cities overall, according to results last updated in mid-February.
The lists come from moveBuddha, an online resource for moving and storage. To determine the top places people have considered calling home, the website said it studied housing costs on Zillow for destinations across the country. It also focused on searches potential movers made on its platform over the following time spans:
- “Best suburbs:” Feb. 1, 2025, to Jan. 31, 2026
- “Best cities:” July 1, 2025, to Jan. 31, 2026
“While not every search turns into a move, search behavior offers an early signal of where interest is building,” the website wrote in its report. “We won’t know for sure where today’s movers really go until the 2026 Census data estimates are released in 2027, but their interest can tell us a lot about their dreams and plans for the coming year before they even move.”
Wake Forest is drawing new residents
Wake Forest, home to roughly 56,000 people, was found to have an average home price just over $508,000. The town reigned supreme after data showed more people were interested in settling there compared to those who wanted to move away…