Best Places28168, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28168, 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.
28168 ranks 14,327th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28168
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.
28168's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28168 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 28168 ranks low
- Short commute32.8 minutes each way, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28168
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28168 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,278, 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 28168's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28168
28168 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28168.
Who works in 28168, and how
Work in 28168 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 28168
28168 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28168 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28168, month by month
28168 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 40° | 29° |
| April | 74° | 60° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 75° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 28168
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 35 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 28168
Schools across 28168 average an A−, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Union ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Childers ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Banoak ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jacobs Fork MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Burns MiddleA · 61% proficient
- West Lincoln MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Challenger Early College HighA+ · 94% proficient
- Gaston Early College High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Fred T Foard HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28168 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28168 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 28168 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28168
Is 28168 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28168 ranks 14,327th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on long commutes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28168 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $215,321. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $64,278 median income, cost of living beats 33% of zip codes.
Is 28168 safe?
Yes, 28168 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $338 per resident a year.
Compare 28168 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28168. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28168 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.
28168 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28168: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28168: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28168: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28168: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28168 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.