Best Places28212, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28212, 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.
28212 ranks 22,684th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28212
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.
28212's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28212 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 28212 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28212
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28212 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $58,628, 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 28212's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 28212
28212 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28212.
Who works in 28212, and how
Work in 28212 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 28212
28212 has more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28212 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28212, month by month
28212 sees roughly 63 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 28212
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 12 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 28212
Schools across 28212 average a B−, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Idlewild ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Lawrence Orr ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Windsor Park ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mcclintock MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Albemarle Road MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Eastway MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
- East Mecklenburg High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28212 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28212 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 28212 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28212 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 28212
Is 28212 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28212 ranks 22,684th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, fast internet, and state finances, and lowest on an overheated housing market and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28212 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $267,238. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $58,628 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 28212 safe?
28212 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $936 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28212?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 31. That works out to about 63 pleasant days a year, more than 12% of zip codes.
Is 28212 good for families?
Schools beat 77% of zip codes, crime safety beats 3%, and childcare runs $1,135 a month.
Compare 28212 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28212. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28212 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.
28212 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28212: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28212: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28212: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28212: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28212 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.