Best PlacesOak Forest, Charlotte, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Oak Forest, 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.
Oak Forest, Charlotte ranks 4,685th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Oak Forest, 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.
Oak Forest, Charlotte's strengths and weaknesses
Where Oak Forest, Charlotte ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB−, better than 80% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where Oak Forest, Charlotte ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Oak Forest, Charlotte
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oak Forest, Charlotte home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $55,379, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Oak Forest, Charlotte's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Oak Forest, Charlotte
Oak Forest, Charlotte runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Oak Forest, Charlotte.
Who works in Oak Forest, Charlotte, and how
Work in Oak Forest, Charlotte centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Oak Forest, Charlotte
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Oak Forest, Charlotte.
What the weather is like in Oak Forest, Charlotte, month by month
Oak Forest, 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 Oak Forest, 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 12 miles away.
The best schools in and around Oak Forest, Charlotte
Schools across Oak Forest, Charlotte average a B−, better than 80% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Joseph W Grier AcademyC− · 30% proficient
- Charlotte East Language AcademyC− · 29% proficient
- Devonshire ElementaryD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northridge MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Levine Middle College High SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Cochrane Collegiate AcademyD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oak Forest, Charlotte school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oak Forest, 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 Oak Forest, Charlotte against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Oak Forest, Charlotte
Is Oak Forest, Charlotte a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oak Forest, Charlotte ranks 4,685th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, low disaster risk, and tree cover, and lowest on education levels and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oak Forest, Charlotte expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $278,706. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $55,379 median income, cost of living beats 25% of neighborhoods.
Is Oak Forest, Charlotte safe?
Oak Forest, Charlotte is safer than 10% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $949 per resident a year.
Compare Oak Forest, Charlotte with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oak Forest, Charlotte. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oak Forest, 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.
Oak Forest, Charlotte detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oak Forest, Charlotte: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oak Forest, Charlotte: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oak Forest, Charlotte: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oak Forest, Charlotte: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oak Forest, 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.