Best Places28101, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28101, 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.
28101 ranks 7,240th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28101
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.
28101's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28101 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$626 a month, better than 83% of zip codes
Where 28101 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 74 pleasant days a year, better than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28101
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28101 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $86,816; 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 28101's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 28101
28101 runs older than the country, 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 28101.
Who works in 28101, and how
Work in 28101 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 28101
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 28101.
What the weather is like in 28101, month by month
28101 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 28101
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 28101
Schools across 28101 average a B+, better than 75% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mcadenville ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- 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 28101 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28101 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 28101 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28101
Is 28101 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28101 ranks 7,240th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, an educated workforce, and civic engagement, and lowest on noise and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28101 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $351,219. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $86,816 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 28101 safe?
Yes, 28101 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $245 per resident a year.
Compare 28101 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28101. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28101 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.
28101 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28101: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28101: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28101: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28101: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28101 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.