Best Places28906, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 28906, 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.
28906 ranks 17,179th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 28906
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.
28906's strengths and weaknesses
Where 28906 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 28906 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 28906
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 28906 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $59,767; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 28906's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 28906
28906 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 28906.
Who works in 28906, and how
Work in 28906 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 28906
28906 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 28906 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 28906, month by month
28906 sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 39° | 29° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 43° |
| July | 87° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 74° | 58° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 28906
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around 28906
Schools across 28906 average an A−, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hiwassee Dam Elementary/middleA · 68% proficient
- Peachtree ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Hayesville ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Murphy MiddleA− · 53% proficient
- Hayesville MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Tri-county Early College HighA− · 65% proficient
- Hayesville HighA− · 63% proficient
- Murphy HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 28906 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
28906 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 28906 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 28906
Is 28906 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 28906 ranks 17,179th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, state finances, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on empty homes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 28906 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $255,662. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $59,767 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 28906 safe?
28906 is safer than 51% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $358 per resident a year.
Compare 28906 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 28906. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 28906 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.
28906 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 28906: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 28906: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 28906: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 28906: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
28906 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.