Best Places28645, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28645, 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.
28645 ranks 18,265th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 28645
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.
28645's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28645 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$670 a month, better than 78% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 78% of zip codes
Where 28645 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Household income$56,580 median, better than only 19% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28645
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28645 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,580, 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 28645's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 28645
28645 runs older 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 28645.
Who works in 28645, and how
Work in 28645 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 28645
28645 has more parkland per resident than 71% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28645 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28645, month by month
28645 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 74° | 59° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 28645
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 58 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 28645
Schools across 28645 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Blowing Rock ElementaryA+ · 74% proficient
- Parkway ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Collettsville SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Heritage MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Hudson MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Central Wilkes Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Burke Middle CollegeA+ · 93% proficient
- Wilkes Early College High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Caldwell Early CollegeA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28645 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28645 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 28645 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28645 suits
Common questions about living in 28645
Is 28645 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28645 ranks 18,265th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, state finances, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on education levels and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28645 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,346. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $56,580 median income, cost of living beats 22% of zip codes.
Is 28645 safe?
28645 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $362 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28645?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 30. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of zip codes.
Is 28645 good for families?
Schools beat 78% of zip codes, crime safety beats 50%, and childcare runs $670 a month.
Compare 28645 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28645. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28645 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.
28645 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28645: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28645: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28645: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28645: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28645 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.