Best PlacesLowell, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lowell, 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.
Lowell ranks 21,598th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lowell
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.
Lowell's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lowell ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of towns
- School gradeB+, better than 87% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of towns
Where Lowell ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 5% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of towns
- Household income$56,944 median, better than only 22% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 26% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 29% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Lowell
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lowell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $56,944; 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 Lowell's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 Lowell
Lowell's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Lowell.
Who works in Lowell, and how
Work in Lowell centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Lowell
Lowell has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Lowell and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lowell, month by month
Lowell sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 31° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 78° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Lowell
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 9 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 Lowell
Schools across Lowell average a B+, better than 87% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- North Belmont ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Lowell ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Mcadenville ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stanley MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Holbrook MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Gaston Early College High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Stuart W Cramer HighA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lowell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lowell 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 Lowell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Lowell
Is Lowell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lowell ranks 21,598th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, fast internet, and walkability, and lowest on noise 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 Lowell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $222,586. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $56,944 median income, cost of living beats 29% of towns.
Is Lowell safe?
Lowell is safer than 43% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $627 per resident a year.
Compare Lowell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lowell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lowell 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.
Lowell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lowell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lowell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lowell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lowell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lowell 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.