Census-designated place · Henderson County, North Carolina

Dana, North Carolina

Dana is a census-designated place in Henderson County, North Carolina, part of the Asheville, NC metro area. It has 4,147 residents. Dana, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 66 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,244 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #124 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), hospital quality rating (high) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on uninsured residents (under 65) (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and child poverty rate (high).

66High

Quality-of-life score: #5,244 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #124 of 458 in NC
Population: 4,147 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 465.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 3716220

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety43#8,891/15,637
Economy22#12,235/15,631
Housing83#2,518/14,977
Health36#10,051/15,609
Healthcare65#5,434/15,650
Environment98#229/15,453
Education66#5,268/15,649
Infrastructure64#5,623/15,650
Community68#4,986/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,582/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Dana, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Henderson County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Hot days · low0 days
99/100North Carolina 32 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHenderson County value
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100North Carolina 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHenderson County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,498 /100k
96/100North Carolina 2,742 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenderson County value
Distance to an airport · low9 mi
95/100North Carolina 30 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHenderson County value
Job growth · high3.3%
95/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHenderson County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.43%
92/100North Carolina 0.66%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Uninsured residents (under 65) · high27.2%
3/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.502
12/100North Carolina 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Child poverty rate · high41.8%
12/100North Carolina 16.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Poverty rate · high24.7%
13/100North Carolina 12.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Drought exposure · high76%
16/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAHenderson County value
Injury deaths · high116 /100k
18/100North Carolina 97 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenderson County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
3,919 (2015-2019) → 4,147 (2020-2024)
+5.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
55.6% (2015-2019) → 29.5% (2020-2024)
−26 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.5% (2015-2019) → 93.8% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
11.5% (2015-2019) → 24.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
32.8% (2015-2019) → 22.6% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
31.8% (2015-2019) → 41.8% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Dana, North Carolina improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Bachelor's++12 points11.5% → 24.0%
Broadband+21 points72.5% → 93.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Dana, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.7 min2015-2019	21.9 min2020-2024	+1.2 min	Within the margin of error	34%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.5%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	95%
Broadband subscriptions	72.5%2015-2019	93.8%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	31.8%2015-2019	41.8%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	75.0%2015-2019	82.8%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4032015-2019	0.5022020-2024	+0.099	Within the margin of error	5%
Median household income	$45,1462015-2019	$60,4502020-2024	+34%	Within the margin of error	63%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.8%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	−10 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Rent-burdened households	55.6%2015-2019	29.5%2020-2024	−26 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	25.6%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	29%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Dana, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dana, North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Dana, North Carolina itself moved +16.7 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,147 residents (±901)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (−7.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

4,147 residents (±901)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White58%2,422
Black0.2%†9
Hispanic or Latino39%†1,612

Education

2,569 residents (±375)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma17%†441
High school or GED33%†837
Some college20%

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,418 households (±216)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k28%†393
$25k–50k13%†179
$50k–75k18%†258
$75k–100k10%†148
$100k–150k14%†201
$150k–200k14%†196
$200k or more3.0%†43

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−18.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,418 households (±216)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own84%1,188
Rent16%†230

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+21.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

220 households (±146)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $75037%†82
$750–1,00036%†79
$1,000–1,5005.0%†

Home values

1,188 homes (±210)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k29%†343
$150k–250k21%†252
$250k–400k17%†205

Age of homes

1,578 homes (±221)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later6.9%†109
2000–200921%†326
1980–199940%†628

Size of homes

1,578 homes (±221)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom3.0%†48
2 bedrooms27%†429

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,654 workers (±506)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone59%977
Carpool35%†579
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home4.5%†74
Other1.5%†24

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,580 workers (±499)

Dana, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min27%†420
15–29 min53%†838
30–44 min9.7%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Asheville, NC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Henderson County, the county holding most of Dana's residents.

Henderson County has 3,085 employer establishments, 258 for every 10,000 residents (1.04× the US rate of 248; 1.09× North Carolina's), with 38,824 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,920. The Census Bureau also counts 11,044 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,085; 11,044 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 258; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 38,824
Average annual pay: $48,920; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Henderson County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	300	25.1	1.62×More than typical	2,001	$58,117	997
Ambulatory health care services	248	20.7	0.99×About typical	2,729	$64,507	549
Restaurants and other eating places	188	15.7	0.86×About typical	3,613	$22,726	37
Lessors of real estate	173	14.5	1.17×About typical	352	$39,284	1,162
Construction of buildings	163	13.6	1.80×More than typical	642	$61,664	531
Services to buildings and dwellings	133	11.1	1.65×More than typical	1,021	$46,458	859
Building equipment contractors	118	9.9	1.64×More than typical	1,018	$58,188	130
Religious organizations	103	8.6	1.55×More than typical	741	$27,099	—
Landscaping services	93	7.8	2.22×More than typical	755	$52,238	362
Real estate agents and brokers	87	7.3	1.49×More than typical	149	$43,289	384
Full-service restaurants	84	7	0.91×About typical	1,557	$26,011	19
Automotive repair and maintenance	83	6.9	1.38×More than typical	400	$42,680	139

Rank places for an industry Open Henderson County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 119,643 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $226.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dana, North Carolina: $54.59 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $226.4K; −99% vs FY2025
Per resident: $54.59; US $1,994
Sole-source: 62%; US 30%
Single offer: 17%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

National Park Service$124K55%
Federal Emergency Management Agency$81.4K36%
Federal Prison Industries / Unicor$7,7173.4%
Office of the Chief Financial Officer$4,6262.0%
Department of Veterans Affairs$4,0391.8%
Defense Logistics Agency$3,3631.5%
Agricultural Marketing Service$9380.4%
Federal Communications Commission$2750.1%

Top recipients

HEATH & SONS MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC$136.6K60%
TERRA SITE CONSTRUCTORS LLC$47.9K21%
L & E MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC$33.4K15%
VANASSE HANGEN BRUSTLIN, INC.$21.8K9.6%
HDR ENGINEERING INC$13.2K5.8%

Spending by fiscal year

233KFY2017
334.5KFY2018
229.5KFY2019
297.6KFY2020
178.1KFY2021
207.3KFY2022
105.5KFY2023
109.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other specialty trade contractors · 2389$136.6K60%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$47.9K21%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$35K15%
Waste collection · 5621$33.4K15%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$8,3133.7%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Dana, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Dana, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Henderson County, NC ($201.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Dana is mostly in Henderson County.

See federal money in Henderson County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Dana, North Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Chuck EdwardsR-NC-11 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 1.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Henderson County83100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Asheville, NC85

Other cities and towns in Henderson County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3716220

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends