Charlotte's best schools are found in one very clearly defined area: The southeastern part of town. This geographic trend is one of the more striking we've found throughout our series of articles using GreatSchools ratings. This means that the majority of the locations we'll recommend will be restricted to the southeastern portion of Charlotte.
Once you move away from the southeast, there are entire swathes of Charlotte devoid of any schools rated an 8 or higher by GreatSchools. The effect is so pronounced that most of the maps we've created don't even show the northern part of Charlotte; there are no results in that area to show.
Viewing school ratings by neighborhood allows us to find the areas with superb overall schools, rather than just identifying one-off instances of an individually exemplary school. Charlotte has a crowded 3-way tie for the top neighborhood between Provincetown, Beverly Crest, and Providence Country Club.
| Neighborhood Rank | Neighborhood | Neighborhood City and State | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Crest | Charlotte, NC | 9.7 |
| 2 | Providence Country Club | Charlotte, NC | 9.7 |
| 3 | Provincetowne | Charlotte, NC | 9.7 |
| 4 | Ballantyne East | Charlotte, NC | 9.6 |
| 5 | Wessex Square | Charlotte, NC | 9.4 |
| 6 | Ballantyne West | Charlotte, NC | 9.4 |
| 7 | Providence Plantation | Charlotte, NC | 9.3 |
| 8 | Ashbrook – Clawson Village | Charlotte, NC | 8.7 |
| 9 | Barclay Downs | Charlotte, NC | 8.7 |
| 10 | First Ward | Charlotte, NC | 8.7 |
Having looked at the best overall neighborhoods, we now try to find the best individual properties near the best schools at the elementary, middle and high school level. Click on any location circle in our interactive maps to pull up info on properties for that location.
Elementary Schools
| Value Rank | Property Name | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swan Run Apartments | $972 | 10.0 |
| 2 | Pinehurst on Providence | $1,114 | 10.0 |
| 3 | Charlotte Woods | $1,135 | 10.0 |
| 4 | The Colony | $1,149 | 10.0 |
| 5 | Cameron SouthPark | $1,060 | 9.0 |
| 6 | Quail Valley On Carmel | $1,089 | 9.0 |
| 7 | Bexley At Springs Farm Luxury Apartments | $1,211 | 10.0 |
| 8 | Camden Foxcroft | $1,292 | 10.0 |
| 9 | Reafield Village | $1,186 | 9.0 |
| 10 | Camden Fairview | $1,342 | 10.0 |
Middle Schools
| Value Rank | Property Name | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Oak Crossing Apartments | $833 | 9.0 |
| 2 | Swan Run Apartments | $972 | 10.0 |
| 3 | Cameron SouthPark | $1,060 | 9.0 |
| 4 | Reafield Village | $1,186 | 9.0 |
| 5 | Quail Valley On Carmel | $1,089 | 9.0 |
| 6 | Bexley At Springs Farm Luxury Apartments | $1,211 | 10.0 |
| 7 | Camden Touchstone | $1,227 | 10.0 |
| 8 | Retreat at McAlpine Creek | $1,257 | 10.0 |
| 9 | Atkins Circle | $1,298 | 10.0 |
| 10 | Cheswyck at Ballantyne | $1,330 | 10.0 |
High Schools
| Value Rank | Property Name | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shadowood Apartments | $884 | 8.0 |
| 2 | Vista Commons | $901 | 8.0 |
| 3 | Swan Run Apartments | $972 | 8.0 |
| 4 | Bexley At Springs Farm Luxury Apartments | $1,211 | 9.0 |
| 5 | Randolph Park | $1,078 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Devonwood Apartment Homes | $820 | 6.0 |
| 7 | Hanover Landing | $825 | 6.0 |
| 8 | Lawyers Ridge | $825 | 6.0 |
| 9 | Pinehurst on Providence | $1,114 | 8.0 |
| 10 | Park Lane | $980 | 7.0 |
Jared is a Baton Rouge, La.-based freelance journalist focused on, in his words, "finding data, 'interviewing it' and then telling its story through interactive tools and traditional journalism." His past work includes analyzing pension shortfalls, looking at election results, tracking campaign finance contributions and analyzing educational and school system data. Some of his work has previously appeared on The Daily Advocate and unfundedmichigan.org.