Is Lowell a good place to live?
Lowell gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $269K for a typical one, or 3.2 years of the Charlotte metro’s $83K median household income. It grades C overall, 160th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 76% of the country. On the plus side, 4% of its land is conserved. Lowell’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, above both the North Carolina town median (0.2) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On hazard risk, just 44 of North Carolina’s 451 towns do better. The biggest place to walk is George Poston Park, 338 acres with 3.6 miles of trail.
What makes Lowell stand out
Where Lowell beats most towns.
How Lowell grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Lowell is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Bank of America Stadium and 21 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lowell. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaBank of America Stadium
15 mi Theme parkCarowinds
17 mi LakeLake Norman11 mi MuseumSullenberger Aviation Museum70K visitors a year
18 mi Stadium & arenaBojangles Coliseum
13 mi MuseumBilly Graham LibraryPhoto credits
Bank of America Stadium: HangingCurve, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Carowinds: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Norman: Prince Grobhelm, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bojangles Coliseum: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Billy Graham Library: Billy Hathorn, CC BY 3.0
Moving to Lowell: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lowell, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lowell.
Lowell is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Charlotte and other neighbors.
Lowell has set aside 4.4% of its land for conservation
3.8 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. George Poston Park | 3.6 mi | 338 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Lowell’s public schools trail 55% of North Carolina districts
Its public schools are run by the Gaston County Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holbrook MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 712 | C+ |
| Gaston Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 1,159 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
For health, Lowell earns a C−
Against the 6,642 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lowell’s, it is less healthy than 51%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of Lowell adults smoke cigarettes, against 14% in North Carolina’s towns and 14% across U.S. towns. 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Lowell. Lowell beats the North Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12.
| Lowell | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 36% |
| What stands out | Lowell | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21% | 13.9% |
| More smokers | 18.2% | 13.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lowell faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lowell has mild winters and hot summers
Lowell has mild winters and warm summers. Lowell’s July high is 90°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For cost of living, Lowell earns a B
The typical Lowell home is worth about $269,000, down 0.9% in a year, 19% below the North Carolina typical home.
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
About one in three of Lowell’s working residents commute to Charlotte
Lowell has about as many jobs (1,789) as working residents, but only 60 people both live and work here. 24.4% of workers work from home, against 16.3% across North Carolina.
Most working residents leave Lowell for work: only 3% work in town. 17% of Lowell residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Lowell grew to 1,789 in 2023, 359 more than in 2013.
| Lowell | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Crime per resident in Lowell is higher than in 60% of U.S. towns
The violent crime rate in Lowell is 3.6 per 1,000 residents. Within North Carolina, it does better than 74% of towns. The property crime rate in Lowell is 13 per 1,000 residents.
| Lowell | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Everything we know about Lowell
Colleges nearby
6 within 15 miles of the center of Lowell
About 3 of every 100 Lowell residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
About Lowell
City in North Carolina, United States
Lowell is a small city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located east of Gastonia. As of the 2020 census, Lowell had a population of 3,654.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1879
- Area
- 2.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 817 ft
- ZIP code
- 28098
- Area code
- 704
Lowell’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Lowell.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell | #160 | C | B | C+ | B− | C− |
| Gastonia | #237 | D | C+ | D− | B− | C+ |
| McAdenville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ranlo | #79 | B− | C+ | B | B− | B− |
McAdenville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lowell with a neighbor →
Questions about Lowell
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lowell, NC a good place to live?
Lowell grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #160 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades C− for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Lowell, NC safe?
Within North Carolina, it does better than 74% of towns.
Is Lowell, NC expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
What is Lowell, NC known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Whitey Lockman and Wilbur Howard.