Best PlacesEast Forest, Charlotte, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East Forest, Charlotte, 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.
East Forest, Charlotte ranks 3,554th 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 East Forest, Charlotte
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.
East Forest, Charlotte's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Forest, Charlotte ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB, better than 87% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
Where East Forest, Charlotte ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
- Household income$60,371 median, better than only 28% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Forest, Charlotte
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Forest, Charlotte home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,371, 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 East Forest, Charlotte's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in East Forest, Charlotte
East Forest, Charlotte 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 East Forest, Charlotte.
Who works in East Forest, Charlotte, and how
Work in East Forest, Charlotte centers on retail trade and admin & support services. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in East Forest, Charlotte
East Forest, Charlotte has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of East Forest, Charlotte and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in East Forest, Charlotte, month by month
East Forest, Charlotte sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 32° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of East Forest, Charlotte
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 12 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.9 million passengers in 2025, with 213 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around East Forest, Charlotte
Schools across East Forest, Charlotte average a B, better than 87% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Matthews ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Greenway Park ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
- Rama Road ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Crestdale MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Mcclintock MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
- East Mecklenburg High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Forest, Charlotte school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East Forest, Charlotte 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 East Forest, Charlotte against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in East Forest, Charlotte
Is East Forest, Charlotte a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Forest, Charlotte ranks 3,554th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Forest, Charlotte expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $346,098. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $60,371 median income, cost of living beats 39% of neighborhoods.
Is East Forest, Charlotte safe?
East Forest, Charlotte is safer than 14% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $939 per resident a year.
Compare East Forest, Charlotte with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Forest, Charlotte. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East Forest, Charlotte 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.
East Forest, Charlotte detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Forest, Charlotte: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Forest, Charlotte: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Forest, Charlotte: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Forest, Charlotte: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East Forest, Charlotte 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.