Town · Clay County, North Carolina

Hayesville, North Carolina

Hayesville is a town in Clay County, North Carolina. It has 1,208 residents. Hayesville, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 52 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,482 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #176 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), access to exercise opportunities (high) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on public EV charging ports (low), gyms and fitness centers (low) and depression (high).

52Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,482 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #176 of 458 in NC
Population: 1,208 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,899.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 3730280

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety53#7,372/15,637
Economy36#10,065/15,631
Housing57#6,515/14,977
Health10#14,102/15,609
Healthcare25#11,692/15,650
Environment88#1,854/15,453
Education65#5,511/15,649
Infrastructure42#9,066/15,650
Community97#415/15,651
Leisure & amenities40#9,444/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hayesville, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Clay 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

Job growth · high14.6%
100/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataClay County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high99.8%
99/100North Carolina 78.0%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClay County value
Hot days · low0 days
98/100North Carolina 32 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationClay County value
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100North Carolina 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Voter turnout · high80.9%
96/100North Carolina 72.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionClay County value
Violent crime rate · low82 /100k
91/100North Carolina 330 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationClay County value

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100North Carolina 5.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyClay County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100North Carolina 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClay County value
Depression · high30.4%
7/100North Carolina 24.8%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · high21.6%
7/100North Carolina 16.2%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Suicide rate · high24.5 /100k
9/100North Carolina 14.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateClay County value
Drug overdose deaths · high29.7 /100k
9/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataClay County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
387 (2015-2019) → 1,208 (2020-2024)
+212%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
43.3% (2015-2019) → 12.7% (2020-2024)
−31 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.7% (2015-2019) → 91.9% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$30,583 (2015-2019) → $55,625 (2020-2024)
+82%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
49.4% (2015-2019) → 33.3% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
29.8% (2015-2019) → 20.0% (2020-2024)
−9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Hayesville, North Carolina improved on 2 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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

Household income+82%$30,583 → $55,625
Broadband+24 points67.7% → 91.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Hayesville, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.8%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Broadband subscriptions	67.7%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	+24 points	Improved	95%
High school diploma or higher	77.4%2015-2019	83.8%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Home price to income ratio	4.1×2015-2019	4.6×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	52%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4412015-2019	0.4272020-2024	−0.015	Within the margin of error	63%
Median household income	$30,5832015-2019	$55,6252020-2024	+82%	Improved	97%
Poverty rate	32.9%2015-2019	24.2%2020-2024	−8.7 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.6%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	81%

“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 Hayesville, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hayesville, 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, Hayesville, North Carolina itself moved +11.5 points in standing on average over the same 6 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

1,208 residents (±497)

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 women (+7.5 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

1,208 residents (±497)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White92%†1,115
Black1.8%†22
Hispanic or Latino1.1%†

Education

684 residents (±212)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma16%†111
High school or GED25%†168
Some college22%

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

320 households (±113)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k25%†80
$25k–50k15%†49
$50k–75k21%†67
$75k–100k19%†62
$100k–150k10%†32
$150k–200k8.1%†26
$200k or more1.3%†4

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−20.7 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

320 households (±113)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own59%†189
Rent41%†131

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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

121 households (±67)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $75068%†82
$750–1,0003.3%†4
$1,000–1,50027%†

Home values

189 homes (±78)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k17%†33
$150k–250k31%†58
$250k–400k41%†

Age of homes

409 homes (±139)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later2.2%†9
2000–200913%†53
1980–199914%†

Size of homes

409 homes (±139)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio0.2%†1
1 bedroom8.6%†35
2 bedrooms33%†133

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

389 workers (±233)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone87%†338
Carpool6.7%†26
Public transit0.8%†3
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home5.7%†22
Other0.0%0

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

367 workers (±228)

Hayesville, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min50%†185
15–29 min32%†116
30–44 min9.8%†

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

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 Clay County, the county holding most of Hayesville's residents.

Clay County has 252 employer establishments, 213 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 0.90× North Carolina's), with 1,822 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,724. The Census Bureau also counts 1,243 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 252; 1,243 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 213; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 1,822
Average annual pay: $40,724; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	24	20.3	1.31×More than typical	135	$70,007	157
Restaurants and other eating places	19	16.1	0.87×About typical	248	$21,738	4
Construction of buildings	16	13.5	1.79×More than typical	59	$50,390	104
Ambulatory health care services	15	12.7	0.61×Fewer than typical	155	$49,529	53
Religious organizations	15	12.7	2.29×More than typical	90	$22,033	—
Full-service restaurants	13	11	1.43×More than typical	187	$23,588	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	12	10.1	1.50×More than typical	24	$52,083	135
Lessors of real estate	11	9.3	0.75×Fewer than typical	18	$38,056	143
Other specialty trade contractors	9	7.6	3.03×Too few to compare	43	$85,372	61
Landscaping services	7	5.9	1.69×Too few to compare	13	$39,923	56
Building equipment contractors	6	5.1	0.84×Too few to compare	31	$32,129	30
Limited-service restaurants	6	5.1	0.63×Too few to compare	61	$16,066	—

Rank places for an industry Open Clay County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,830 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Clay 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.

Hayesville, 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.

Clay County64100% of residents

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

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