Best PlacesLincolnton, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lincolnton, 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.
Lincolnton ranks 1,328th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lincolnton
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.
Lincolnton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lincolnton ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 95% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 83% of cities
- Cheap childcare$805 a month, better than 81% of cities
Where Lincolnton ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 13% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Lincolnton
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lincolnton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $65,137; 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 Lincolnton's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lincolnton
Lincolnton runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lincolnton.
Who works in Lincolnton, and how
Work in Lincolnton centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Lincolnton
Lincolnton has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of cities and more parkland per resident than 77% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lincolnton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lincolnton, month by month
Lincolnton sees roughly 77 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 Lincolnton
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 24 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 Lincolnton
Schools across Lincolnton average a B+, better than 79% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Union ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Iron Station ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Childers ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Lincoln MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Jacobs Fork MiddleA · 67% proficient
- East Lincoln MiddleA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Challenger Early College HighA+ · 94% proficient
- Gaston Early College High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- North Lincoln HighA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lincolnton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lincolnton 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 Lincolnton against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Lincolnton suits
Common questions about living in Lincolnton
Is Lincolnton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lincolnton ranks 1,328th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and tree cover, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lincolnton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $252,164. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $65,137 median income, cost of living beats 23% of cities.
Is Lincolnton safe?
Yes, Lincolnton is safer than 59% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $330 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lincolnton?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 30. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of cities.
Is Lincolnton good for families?
Schools beat 79% of cities, crime safety beats 59%, and childcare runs $805 a month.
Compare Lincolnton with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lincolnton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lincolnton 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.
Lincolnton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lincolnton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lincolnton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lincolnton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lincolnton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lincolnton 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.