Best Places28032, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28032, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
28032 ranks 6,963rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28032
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
28032's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28032 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 93% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$626 a month, better than 83% of zip codes
Where 28032 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- Short commute29.2 minutes each way, better than only 32% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 74 pleasant days a year, better than only 34% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28032
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28032 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $77,317; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 28032's effective rate of 0.97%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28032
28032's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28032.
Who works in 28032, and how
Work in 28032 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 28032
28032 has more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28032 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28032, month by month
28032 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 31° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 78° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 28032
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 8 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.9 million passengers in 2025, with 213 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 28032
Schools across 28032 average an A, better than 93% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- New Hope ElementaryA · 62% proficient
- Mcadenville ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cramerton MiddleA+ · 77% proficient
- Belmont MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Holbrook MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Stuart W Cramer HighA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28032 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28032 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 28032 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28032
Is 28032 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28032 ranks 6,963rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, cell coverage, and state finances, and lowest on noise and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28032 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $316,160. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $77,317 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 28032 safe?
28032 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
Compare 28032 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28032. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28032 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
28032 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28032: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28032: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28032: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28032: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28032 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.