Best Places28226, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28226, 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.
28226 ranks 404th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28226
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.
28226's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28226 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$141,742 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 28226 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,135 a month, better than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 33% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28226
A household needs to earn about $157,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28226 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $141,742; 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 28226'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 and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28226
28226's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 28226.
Who works in 28226, and how
Work in 28226 centers on finance & insurance and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 28226
28226 has more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28226 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28226, month by month
28226 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 28226
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 10 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 28226
Schools across 28226 average an A, better than 95% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sharon ElementaryA+ · 77% proficient
- Olde Providence ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Beverly Woods ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Charlotte MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Alexander Graham MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Carmel MiddleA− · 54% 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 28226 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28226 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 28226 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28226 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 31% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 28226
Is 28226 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28226 ranks 404th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, good schools, and high incomes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28226 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $607,782. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $141,742 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 28226 safe?
28226 is safer than 52% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $348 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28226?
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 28226 good for families?
Schools beat 95% of zip codes, crime safety beats 52%, and childcare runs $1,135 a month.
Compare 28226 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28226. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28226 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.
28226 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28226: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28226: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28226: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28226: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28226 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.