Best PlacesCharlotte, Rochester, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Charlotte, Rochester, 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.
Charlotte, Rochester ranks 4,187th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Charlotte, Rochester
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.
Charlotte, Rochester's strengths and weaknesses
Where Charlotte, Rochester ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
Where Charlotte, Rochester ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
- Household income$56,211 median, better than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Charlotte, Rochester
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Charlotte, Rochester home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,211, 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 Charlotte, Rochester's effective rate of 2.23%, 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 Charlotte, Rochester
Charlotte, Rochester 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 Charlotte, Rochester.
Who works in Charlotte, Rochester, and how
Work in Charlotte, Rochester centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Charlotte, Rochester
Charlotte, Rochester has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 97% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Charlotte, Rochester and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Charlotte, Rochester, month by month
Charlotte, Rochester sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 28° | 20° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Charlotte, Rochester
The nearest airport, Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 233 miles away.
The best schools in and around Charlotte, Rochester
Schools across Charlotte, Rochester average a C−, better than 24% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Lakeshore Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
- School 42-abelard ReynoldsD+ · 21% proficient
- Dr Walter Cooper AcademyD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Iroquois Middle SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Arcadia Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- East Lower SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Arcadia High SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
- Edison Career And Technology High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Northeast College Preparatory High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Charlotte, Rochester school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Charlotte, Rochester 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 Charlotte, Rochester against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Charlotte, Rochester
Is Charlotte, Rochester a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Charlotte, Rochester ranks 4,187th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, tree cover, and clean air, and lowest on property taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Charlotte, Rochester expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $147,902. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $56,211 median income, cost of living beats 28% of neighborhoods.
Is Charlotte, Rochester safe?
Yes, Charlotte, Rochester is safer than 56% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $430 per resident a year.
Compare Charlotte, Rochester with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Charlotte, Rochester. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Charlotte, Rochester 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.
Charlotte, Rochester detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Charlotte, Rochester: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Charlotte, Rochester: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Charlotte, Rochester: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Charlotte, Rochester: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Charlotte, Rochester 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.