Durham, NC vs Royal Oak, MI

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Durham

69.4

#1213 nationally

Royal Oak

79.7

#111 nationally

Royal Oak leads in walk score (57 vs 33). Royal Oak leads in median household income ($92,799 vs $67,432). Durham leads in average commute (22.8 min vs 24.7 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Durham, NC	Royal Oak, MI
WhereAtHome Score	69.4 (#1213)	79.7 (#111)
Population	283,506	57,452
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$395,976	$337,493
Median Household Income	$67,432	$92,799
Average Commute	22.8 min	24.7 min
Walk Score	33	57
Crime Level	Moderate	3.4
School Rating	6.4	N/A
Cost of Living Index	102	106
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+61.9	D+10.6