Best PlacesLake Norman of Catawba, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lake Norman of Catawba, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lake Norman of Catawba ranks 3,986th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lake Norman of Catawba
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.
Lake Norman of Catawba's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lake Norman of Catawba ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 97% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 92% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
Where Lake Norman of Catawba ranks low
- Short commute38.2 minutes each way, better than only 8% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 36% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 76 pleasant days a year, better than only 39% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 39% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Lake Norman of Catawba
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lake Norman of Catawba home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $103,631; 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 Lake Norman of Catawba's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 Lake Norman of Catawba
Lake Norman of Catawba 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 Lake Norman of Catawba.
Who works in Lake Norman of Catawba, and how
Work in Lake Norman of Catawba centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Lake Norman of Catawba
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Lake Norman of Catawba.
What the weather is like in Lake Norman of Catawba, month by month
Lake Norman of Catawba sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 30° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 48° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Lake Norman of Catawba
The nearest airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, is about 21 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 Lake Norman of Catawba
Schools across Lake Norman of Catawba average an A, better than 97% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Sherrills Ford ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Troutman ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Balls Creek ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oakwood Middle Ib SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Mill Creek MiddleA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Challenger Early College HighA+ · 94% proficient
- Crossroads Arts Sciences Early CollegeA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lake Norman of Catawba school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lake Norman of Catawba 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 Lake Norman of Catawba against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Lake Norman of Catawba
Is Lake Norman of Catawba a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lake Norman of Catawba ranks 3,986th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on good schools, health care access, and a strong job market, and lowest on long commutes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lake Norman of Catawba expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $462,918. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $103,631 median income, cost of living beats 92% of towns.
Is Lake Norman of Catawba safe?
Yes, Lake Norman of Catawba is safer than 71% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $265 per resident a year.
Compare Lake Norman of Catawba with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lake Norman of Catawba. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lake Norman of Catawba 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.
Lake Norman of Catawba detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lake Norman of Catawba: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lake Norman of Catawba: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lake Norman of Catawba: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lake Norman of Catawba: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lake Norman of Catawba 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.