Best PlacesRockwell, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rockwell, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Rockwell ranks 11,891st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Rockwell
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.
Rockwell's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rockwell ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 81% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of towns
Where Rockwell ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 23% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 39% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 39% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 77 pleasant days a year, better than only 42% of towns
- TransitBetter than only 44% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rockwell
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockwell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,849, 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 Rockwell's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 Rockwell
Rockwell's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Rockwell.
Who works in Rockwell, and how
Work in Rockwell centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Rockwell
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rockwell.
What the weather is like in Rockwell, month by month
Rockwell sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 50, 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 | 50° | 40° | 31° |
| April | 72° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Rockwell
The nearest airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 36 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rockwell
Schools across Rockwell average a B, better than 72% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mount Pleasant ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
- Bostian ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Shive ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mount Pleasant MiddleA · 63% proficient
- China Grove MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Concord MiddleB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Cabarrus-kannapolis Early CollA+ · 80% proficient
- Rowan Co Early CollegeA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rockwell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockwell 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 Rockwell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rockwell
Is Rockwell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockwell ranks 11,891st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, civic engagement, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on an overheated housing market and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rockwell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $226,257. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $69,849 median income, cost of living beats 50% of towns.
Is Rockwell safe?
Yes, Rockwell is safer than 75% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $253 per resident a year.
Compare Rockwell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockwell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockwell 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.
Rockwell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockwell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockwell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockwell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockwell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockwell 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.