Best Places28751, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28751, 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.
28751 ranks 10,775th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28751
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.
28751's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28751 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 28751 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28751
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28751 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,069, 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 28751's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 28751
28751 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 28751.
Who works in 28751, and how
Work in 28751 centers on retail trade and arts & entertainment. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 28751
28751 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28751 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28751, month by month
28751 sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 28751
The nearest airport, Asheville Regional, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28751
Schools across 28751 average an A−, better than 93% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hazelwood ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Jonathan Valley ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Scotts Creek ElementaryB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Waynesville MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Swain County Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Haywood Early CollegeA+ · 92% proficient
- Jackson Co Early CollegeA+ · 85% proficient
- Smoky Mountain High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28751 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28751 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 28751 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28751
Is 28751 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28751 ranks 10,775th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, tree cover, and good schools, and lowest on empty homes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28751 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $310,604. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $65,069 median income, cost of living beats 29% of zip codes.
Is 28751 safe?
Yes, 28751 is safer than 67% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $282 per resident a year.
Compare 28751 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28751. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28751 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.
28751 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28751: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28751: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28751: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28751: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28751 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.