Best Places28202, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28202, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
28202 ranks 2,119th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28202
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.
28202's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28202 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 28202 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,135 a month, better than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28202
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28202 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $107,827; 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 28202's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 28202
28202 runs younger 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 28202.
Who works in 28202, and how
Work in 28202 centers on finance & insurance and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 41%
- Work from home 37%
- Transit, walk, or bike 22%
Life in 28202
28202 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 28202 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28202, month by month
28202 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 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 | 77° | 63° | 49° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 64° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 28202
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 6 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 28202
Schools across 28202 average a B−, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Irwin Academic CenterA+ · 82% proficient
- Dilworth Elementary School: Latta CampusA+ · 75% proficient
- First Ward Creative Arts AcademyC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alexander Graham MiddleA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28202 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28202 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 28202 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28202
Is 28202 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28202 ranks 2,119th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, population health, and walkability, and lowest on noise and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28202 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $456,660. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $107,827 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 28202 safe?
28202 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $958 per resident a year.
Compare 28202 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28202. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28202 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.
28202 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28202: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28202: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28202: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28202: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28202 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.