Best Places28112, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28112, 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.
28112 ranks 10,256th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28112
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.
28112's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28112 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of zip codes
- School gradeB, better than 80% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 28112 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Short commute30.9 minutes each way, better than only 24% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 73 pleasant days a year, better than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28112
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28112 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,360, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 28112's effective rate of 0.52%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28112
28112 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28112.
Who works in 28112, and how
Work in 28112 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 28112
28112 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28112 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28112, month by month
28112 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 32° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 28112
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 30 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 28112
Schools across 28112 average a B, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Western Union ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Rocky River ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Rock Rest ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Parkwood MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- East Union MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Monroe MiddleC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Academy Of Technology And ArtsA+ · 95% proficient
- Union County Early CollegeA+ · 90% proficient
- Parkwood HighB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28112 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28112 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 28112 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28112 suits
Common questions about living in 28112
Is 28112 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28112 ranks 10,256th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and good schools, and lowest on an overheated housing market and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28112 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $301,256. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $83,360 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 28112 safe?
28112 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $402 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28112?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 32. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 32% of zip codes.
Is 28112 good for families?
Schools beat 80% of zip codes, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $915 a month.
Compare 28112 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28112. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28112 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.
28112 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28112: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28112: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28112: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28112: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28112 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.