Best Places28658, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28658, 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.
28658 ranks 9,122nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28658
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.
28658's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28658 ranks high
- School gradeA−, better than 92% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$697 a month, better than 75% of zip codes
Where 28658 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 72 pleasant days a year, better than only 30% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 44% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28658
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28658 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,157, 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 28658's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28658
28658'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 28658.
Who works in 28658, and how
Work in 28658 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 28658
28658 has more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28658 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28658, month by month
28658 sees roughly 72 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 28658
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 34 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 28658
Schools across 28658 average an A−, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Balls Creek ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Startown ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Banoak ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jacobs Fork MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Mill Creek MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Maiden Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Challenger Early College HighA+ · 94% proficient
- Discovery High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Fred T Foard HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28658 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28658 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 28658 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28658 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 28658
Is 28658 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28658 ranks 9,122nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, state finances, 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 28658 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $217,470. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $73,157 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 28658 safe?
28658 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $356 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28658?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 29. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 30% of zip codes.
Is 28658 good for families?
Schools beat 92% of zip codes, crime safety beats 50%, and childcare runs $697 a month.
Compare 28658 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28658. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28658 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.
28658 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28658: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28658: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28658: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28658: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28658 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.