Best Places28208, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28208, 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.
28208 ranks 23,169th 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 28208
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.
28208's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28208 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 28208 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28208
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28208 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $64,350; 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 28208's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 28208
28208 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28208.
Who works in 28208, and how
Work in 28208 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 28208
28208 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 28208 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28208, month by month
28208 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 28208
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 4 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 28208
Schools across 28208 average a C+, better than 69% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dilworth Elementary School: Latta CampusA+ · 75% proficient
- Charles H. Parker Academic CenterB+ · 51% proficient
- Tuckaseegee ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alexander Graham MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Kennedy MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Sedgefield MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Phillip O Berry Academy Of TechnologyB+ · 55% proficient
- Harding University High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28208 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28208 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 28208 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28208 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 28208
Is 28208 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28208 ranks 23,169th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, state finances, 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 28208 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $257,218. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $64,350 median income, cost of living beats 33% of zip codes.
Is 28208 safe?
28208 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,282 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28208?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 31. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of zip codes.
Is 28208 good for families?
Schools beat 69% of zip codes, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $1,135 a month.
Compare 28208 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28208. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28208 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.
28208 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28208: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28208: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28208: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28208: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28208 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.