Best PlacesCar Town, Kannapolis, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Car Town, Kannapolis, 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.
Car Town, Kannapolis ranks 4,178th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Car Town, Kannapolis
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.
Car Town, Kannapolis' strengths and weaknesses
Where Car Town, Kannapolis ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 73% of neighborhoods
Where Car Town, Kannapolis ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Car Town, Kannapolis
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Car Town, Kannapolis home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,110, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Car Town, Kannapolis' effective rate of 0.84%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Car Town, Kannapolis
Car Town, Kannapolis runs younger 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 Car Town, Kannapolis.
Who works in Car Town, Kannapolis, and how
Work in Car Town, Kannapolis centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Car Town, Kannapolis
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Car Town, Kannapolis.
What the weather is like in Car Town, Kannapolis, month by month
Car Town, Kannapolis sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 43° | 34° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 63° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Car Town, Kannapolis
The nearest airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 26 miles away.
The best schools in and around Car Town, Kannapolis
Schools across Car Town, Kannapolis average a C+, better than 57% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Jackson Park ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Forest Park ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
- North Kannapolis ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kannapolis MiddleB · 45% proficient
- Concord MiddleB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Cabarrus-kannapolis Early CollA+ · 80% proficient
- A L Brown HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Car Town, Kannapolis school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Car Town, Kannapolis 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 Car Town, Kannapolis against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Car Town, Kannapolis
Is Car Town, Kannapolis a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Car Town, Kannapolis ranks 4,178th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on an overheated housing market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Car Town, Kannapolis expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $201,265. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $56,110 median income, cost of living beats 34% of neighborhoods.
Is Car Town, Kannapolis safe?
Car Town, Kannapolis is safer than 45% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $541 per resident a year.
Compare Car Town, Kannapolis with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Car Town, Kannapolis. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Car Town, Kannapolis 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.
Car Town, Kannapolis detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Car Town, Kannapolis: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Car Town, Kannapolis: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Car Town, Kannapolis: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Car Town, Kannapolis: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Car Town, Kannapolis 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.