Best Places28692, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28692, 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.
28692 ranks 21,082nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28692
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.
28692's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28692 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 28692 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Household income$50,207 median, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28692
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28692 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $50,207, 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 28692's effective rate of 0.34%, 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 28692
28692 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 28692.
Who works in 28692, and how
Work in 28692 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 28692
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 28692.
What the weather is like in 28692, month by month
28692 sees roughly 92 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 82° | 70° | 60° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 28692
The nearest airport, Tri-Cities, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28692
Schools across 28692 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Valle Crucis ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Green Valley ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Bethel ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Watauga Innovation AcademyA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28692 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28692 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 28692 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28692
Is 28692 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28692 ranks 21,082nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, low property taxes, and state finances, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28692 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $314,969. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $50,207 median income, cost of living beats 16% of zip codes.
Is 28692 safe?
28692 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $436 per resident a year.
Compare 28692 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28692. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28692 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.
28692 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28692: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28692: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28692: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28692: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28692 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.