Best Places28206, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28206, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
28206 ranks 20,510th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28206
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.
28206's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28206 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 28206 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28206
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28206 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $68,076, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 28206's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 28206
28206 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 28206.
Who works in 28206, and how
Work in 28206 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 61%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 28206
28206 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 28206 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28206, month by month
28206 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 28206
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 28206
Schools across 28206 average a C+, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dilworth Elementary School: Latta CampusA+ · 75% proficient
- Eastover ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Gov's Village Stem (lower)C · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alexander Graham MiddleA · 61% proficient
- James Martin MiddleC− · 30% proficient
- Martin Luther King Jr MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Williams Secondary MontessoriA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28206 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28206 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 28206 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28206
Is 28206 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28206 ranks 20,510th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, cell coverage, and biking, and lowest on crime and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28206 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $313,965. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $68,076 median income, cost of living beats 39% of zip codes.
Is 28206 safe?
28206 is safer than 1% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,372 per resident a year.
Compare 28206 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28206. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28206 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.
28206 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28206: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28206: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28206: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28206: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28206 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.