Best PlacesHickory Grove, Charlotte, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hickory Grove, 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.
Hickory Grove, Charlotte ranks 3,256th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hickory Grove, 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.
Hickory Grove, Charlotte's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hickory Grove, Charlotte ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB, better than 84% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Hickory Grove, Charlotte ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Hickory Grove, Charlotte
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hickory Grove, Charlotte home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $71,582; 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 Hickory Grove, Charlotte's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hickory Grove, Charlotte
Hickory Grove, Charlotte runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hickory Grove, Charlotte.
Who works in Hickory Grove, Charlotte, and how
Work in Hickory Grove, Charlotte centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Hickory Grove, Charlotte
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hickory Grove, Charlotte.
What the weather is like in Hickory Grove, Charlotte, month by month
Hickory Grove, Charlotte 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 Hickory Grove, Charlotte
The nearest airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 13 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hickory Grove, Charlotte
Schools across Hickory Grove, Charlotte average a B, better than 84% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Joseph W Grier AcademyC− · 30% proficient
- Devonshire ElementaryD · 18% proficient
- Hickory Grove ElementaryD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northridge MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hickory Grove, Charlotte school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hickory Grove, 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 Hickory Grove, Charlotte against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Hickory Grove, Charlotte
Is Hickory Grove, Charlotte a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hickory Grove, Charlotte ranks 3,256th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on tree cover, state finances, and good schools, and lowest on walkability and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hickory Grove, Charlotte expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $303,277. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $71,582 median income, cost of living beats 53% of neighborhoods.
Is Hickory Grove, Charlotte safe?
Hickory Grove, Charlotte is safer than 37% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $593 per resident a year.
Compare Hickory Grove, Charlotte with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hickory Grove, Charlotte. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hickory Grove, 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.
Hickory Grove, Charlotte detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hickory Grove, Charlotte: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hickory Grove, Charlotte: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hickory Grove, Charlotte: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hickory Grove, Charlotte: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hickory Grove, 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.