Best PlacesLowgap, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lowgap, 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.
Lowgap ranks 29,105th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lowgap
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.
Lowgap's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lowgap ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of towns
Where Lowgap ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of towns
- Short commute32.3 minutes each way, better than only 23% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 30% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Lowgap
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lowgap home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,794, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Lowgap's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 Lowgap
Lowgap 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 Lowgap.
Who works in Lowgap, and how
Work in Lowgap centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Lowgap
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Lowgap.
What the weather is like in Lowgap, month by month
Lowgap sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Lowgap
The nearest airport, Piedmont Triad International, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lowgap
Schools across Lowgap average an A−, better than 90% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cedar Ridge ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- J Sam Gentry MiddleA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- Surry Early CollegeA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lowgap school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lowgap 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 Lowgap against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Lowgap
Is Lowgap a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lowgap ranks 29,105th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and low disaster risk, and lowest on a weak job market and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lowgap expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $182,688. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $65,794 median income, cost of living beats 34% of towns.
Is Lowgap safe?
Lowgap is safer than 48% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $335 per resident a year.
Compare Lowgap with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lowgap. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lowgap 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.
Lowgap detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lowgap: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lowgap: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lowgap: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lowgap: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lowgap 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.