27707 — Durham, North Carolina
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 27707.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 4,643 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 33% on the prior year.
A major airport is 11 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.
Its Area Score of 71 places 27707 in the top 17% of published ZIP profiles.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.2% is lower than 97% of the 1,061 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment fell 1.7% over the past year, to 160,787 employed residents.
56% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US ZIP areas.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$3,106 | $74,406 | Top 46% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,397 | $49,796 | Top 20% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate | 14.2% | Top 34% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute | 22.9 min | Bottom 24% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 56.3% | Top 9% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Employment | 160,787 | Bottom 37% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years) | -1.1% | Bottom 33% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year) | -1.7% | Bottom 26% | June 2026 |
| Labor force | 166,121 | Bottom 36% | June 2026 |
| Labor force participation | 66.9% | Top 25% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wage | $79,700 | Top 11% | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wage | $60,720 | Top 11% | 2025 OEWS |
| Unemployment change (year over year) | -0.4% | Bottom 36% | June 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.2% | Bottom 3% | June 2026 |
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 9,790 | $135,620 |
| Retail Salespersons | 5,850 | $31,790 |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 5,820 | $46,860 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 5,350 | $29,170 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 5,250 | $37,750 |
| Cashiers | 4,840 | $29,920 |
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Durham, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated →Median rent of $1,431 takes 23% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.
A median home costs 5.5 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income | 5.48 | Top 13% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate | 47.7% | Bottom 8% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±920 | 23,657 | Top 2% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median gross rent ±$50 | $1,431 | Top 24% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$26,800 | $407,800 | Top 20% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income | 23.1% | Top 21% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate | 7.6% | Bottom 36% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated →An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
At 16.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.
The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Durham, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.
Weather & climate
7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 32°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 43.6 inches.
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation | 43.6" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low | 32°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high | 90°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months | 7 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing | 38°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and lightning.
Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, hail, strong wind, winter weather, ice storm, earthquake, cold wave, landslide, wildfire.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Taxes
AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.
Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.
Access
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 11 miles away.
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh-Durham Intl | RDU | 11 mi | 10,000 ft |
| Piedmont Triad Intl | GSO | 56 mi | 10,001 ft |
| Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld | ISO | 87 mi | 11,498 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
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Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle | 28-day NASR cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) | Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals | Every ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | June 2026 | Monthly |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS | Annual (spring release) |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate | Annual (vintage released each spring) |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 | Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month |
| Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year | Annual (5-year estimates released each December) |
Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.
27707 vs Durham
How this ZIP area compares with Durham as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.
Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.