Best Places28602, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28602, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
28602 ranks 12,120th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28602
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.
28602's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28602 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Short commute21.9 minutes each way, better than 76% of zip codes
Where 28602 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 26% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28602
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28602 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,916, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 28602's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 28602
28602'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 28602.
Who works in 28602, and how
Work in 28602 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 28602
28602 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 82% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 28602 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28602, month by month
28602 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 40° | 29° |
| April | 74° | 60° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 75° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 28602
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 40 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 28602
Schools across 28602 average an A−, better than 89% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mountain View ElementaryA+ · 72% proficient
- Icard ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Oakwood ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jacobs Fork MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Maiden Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- East Burke MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Challenger Early College HighA+ · 94% proficient
- Burke Middle CollegeA+ · 93% proficient
- Hickory HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28602 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28602 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 28602 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28602 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 28602
Is 28602 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28602 ranks 12,120th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and cheap car insurance, 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 28602 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $211,021. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $69,916 median income, cost of living beats 50% of zip codes.
Is 28602 safe?
28602 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $413 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28602?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 29. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 26% of zip codes.
Is 28602 good for families?
Schools beat 89% of zip codes, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $695 a month.
Compare 28602 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28602. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28602 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.
28602 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28602: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28602: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28602: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28602: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28602 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.