Best Places28174, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28174, 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.
28174 ranks 17,192nd 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 28174
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.
28174's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28174 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 75% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 68% of zip codes
Where 28174 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28174
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28174 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,918, 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 28174's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28174
28174 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28174.
Who works in 28174, and how
Work in 28174 centers on education 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 79%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 28174
28174 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28174 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28174, month by month
28174 sees roughly 74 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 28174
The nearest airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 33 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28174
Schools across 28174 average a B, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Unionville ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Rock Rest ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
- Marshville ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Piedmont MiddleA · 65% proficient
- East Union MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Union County Early CollegeA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28174 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28174 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 28174 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28174
Is 28174 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28174 ranks 17,192nd 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 education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28174 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $239,737. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $70,918 median income, cost of living beats 39% of zip codes.
Is 28174 safe?
28174 is safer than 31% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $435 per resident a year.
Compare 28174 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28174. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28174 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.
28174 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28174: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28174: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28174: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28174: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28174 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.