Best Places28675, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28675, 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.
28675 ranks 22,679th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 28675
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.
28675's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28675 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$526 a month, better than 92% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 28675 ranks low
- Household income$47,202 median, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28675
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28675 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $47,202, 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 28675's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 28675
28675 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 28675.
Who works in 28675, and how
Work in 28675 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 28675
28675 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 28675 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28675, month by month
28675 sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 33° | 27° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 44° |
| July | 79° | 70° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 28675
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 71 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28675
Schools across 28675 average a B, better than 67% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Independence ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Piney Creek ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Glade Creek ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Independence MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
- North Wilkes Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Grayson County HighA · 73% proficient
- Alleghany HighA− · 60% proficient
- North Wilkes High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28675 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28675 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 28675 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28675
Is 28675 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28675 ranks 22,679th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and tree cover, and lowest on low incomes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28675 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $237,293. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $47,202 median income, cost of living beats 11% of zip codes.
Is 28675 safe?
28675 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $396 per resident a year.
Compare 28675 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28675. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28675 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.
28675 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28675: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28675: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28675: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28675: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28675 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.