Best Places28786, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28786, 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.
28786 ranks 11,255th 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 28786
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.
28786's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28786 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% 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 28786 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- Household income$64,237 median, better than only 32% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28786
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28786 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $64,237, 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 28786's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 28786
28786 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 28786.
Who works in 28786, and how
Work in 28786 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 28786
28786 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 28786 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28786, month by month
28786 sees roughly 112 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 28786
The nearest airport, Asheville Regional, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 116 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28786
Schools across 28786 average an A, better than 95% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bethel ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Junaluska ElementaryA · 66% proficient
- Hazelwood ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bethel MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Waynesville MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Canton MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Haywood Early CollegeA+ · 92% proficient
- Jackson Co Early CollegeA+ · 85% proficient
- Tuscola HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28786 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28786 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 28786 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 28786 suits
Retirees
The weather beats 71% of zip codes and health care access beats 80%.
Common questions about living in 28786
Is 28786 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28786 ranks 11,255th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, heat safety, 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 28786 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $300,084. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $64,237 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 28786 safe?
Yes, 28786 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $318 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 28786?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 27. That works out to about 112 pleasant days a year, more than 71% of zip codes.
Is 28786 good for families?
Schools beat 95% of zip codes, crime safety beats 62%, and childcare runs $719 a month.
Compare 28786 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28786. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28786 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.
28786 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28786: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28786: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28786: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28786: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28786 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.