Town · Henderson County, North Carolina

Mills River, North Carolina

Mills River is a town in Henderson County, North Carolina, part of the Asheville, NC metro area. It has 7,281 residents. Mills River, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 91 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,423 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #9 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 drought exposure (high), injury deaths (high) and homicide rate (high).

91Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,423 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #9 of 458 in NC
Population: 7,281 (2020-2024)
Land area: 22 mi²
Density: 325.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 3743260

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
Economy94#978/15,631
Housing91#1,401/14,977
Health68#4,926/15,609
Healthcare71#4,613/15,650
Environment98#229/15,453
Education88#1,843/15,649
Infrastructure82#2,853/15,650
Community72#4,391/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,582/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Mills River, 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
Rent as share of income · low19.4%
95/100North Carolina 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Job growth · high3.3%
95/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHenderson County value

Weaknesses

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
Homicide rate · high6.1 /100k
21/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataHenderson County value
Suicide rate · high20.1 /100k
22/100North Carolina 14.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHenderson County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high12.9%
22/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Firearm deaths · high17.6 /100k
24/100North Carolina 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHenderson County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
61.3% (2015-2019) → 23.4% (2020-2024)
−38 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
36.3% (2015-2019) → 19.4% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$66,667 (2015-2019) → $105,398 (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
7.9% (2015-2019) → 1.2% (2020-2024)
−6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.1% (2015-2019) → 91.7% (2020-2024)
+6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
7.5% (2015-2019) → 2.6% (2020-2024)
−4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Mills River, North Carolina improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved3

Rent / income−17 points36.3% → 19.4%
Household income+58%$66,667 → $105,398
Poverty−4.9 points7.5% → 2.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Mills River, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	20.9 min2020-2024	−0.5 min	Within the margin of error	54%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.4%2015-2019	43.7%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Broadband subscriptions	85.1%2015-2019	91.7%2020-2024	+6.6 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Effective property tax rate	0.54%2015-2019	0.46%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	93.7%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	63%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4052015-2019	0.3662020-2024	−0.038	Within the margin of error	79%
Median household income	$66,6672015-2019	$105,3982020-2024	+58%	Improved	90%
Poverty rate	7.5%2015-2019	2.6%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Improved	80%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	36.3%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	−17 points	Improved	98%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.4%2015-2019	12.9%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	16%

“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 Mills River, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mills River, 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, Mills River, North Carolina itself moved +13.1 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

7,281 residents (±22)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

2,727 households (±181)

Mills River, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k8.6%†235
$25k–50k9.6%†263
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,727 households (±181)

Mills River, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own86%2,334
Rent14%†393

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,573 workers (±281)

Mills River, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone76%2,729
Carpool9.8%†350
Public transit0.0%0

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 Mills River'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 $5.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Mills River, North Carolina: $750 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $5.5M; −17% vs FY2025
Per resident: $750; US $1,995
Sole-source: 16%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.6%; 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

Department of Veterans Affairs$4.2M77%
Department of the Army$879.6K16%
Defense Logistics Agency$354.9K6.5%
Federal Aviation Administration$26.6K0.5%
National Institutes of Health$8,7520.2%
Defense Health Agency$5080.0%
Transportation Security Administration$42.090.0%

Top recipients

SDV OFFICE SYSTEMS LLC$4.6M83%
SURVIVAL INNOVATIONS, LLC$879.6K16%
M. C. DEAN, INC.$26.6K0.5%
SKYLAND PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS INC$1,9360.0%
JPL & ASSOCIATES, LLC$1,7440.0%

Spending by fiscal year

18.5KFY2017
134.2KFY2018
192.8KFY2019
164.7KFY2020
525.6KFY2021
146.7KFY2022
216.8KFY2023
643.2K

Top industries (NAICS)

Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$3.5M65%
Apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing · 3159$879.6K16%
Office furniture (including fixtures) manufacturing · 3372$595K11%
Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers · 4234$354.9K6.5%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$58.5K1.1%
Investigation and security services · 5616

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Mills River, North Carolina

NEW DELIVERY ORDER FOR IDIQ CONTRACT FOR FIRMED FIX PRICE TETHERS IN SUPPORT OF AIR WARRIOR$2.4M
SURVIVAL INNOVATIONS, LLC· Henderson County, NC· Other equipment & supplies· Jan 23, 2025 – Jun 8, 2026· W58RGZ25F0160
W58RGZ25D0009 IS A IDIQ FIRM FIXED PRICE TETHERS IN SUPPORT OF AIR WARRIOR. THIS ACQUISITION W58RGZ26F0241 IS A NEW DELIVERY ORDER TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS SUCH AS CREW SPECIFIC KIT, TETHER (LONG), AND TETHER (SHORT).$824.7K
SURVIVAL INNOVATIONS, LLC· Henderson County, NC· Other equipment & supplies· Apr 7, 2026 – Jun 8, 2026· W58RGZ26F0241
8510486272!POCKET,GENERAL$201.3K
SURVIVAL INNOVATIONS, LLC· Henderson County, NC· Other equipment & supplies· Mar 11, 2024 – Oct 8, 2025· SPE1C124P0659

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Mills River, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Mills River, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Henderson County, NC ($201.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Mills River 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.

Mills River, 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/3743260

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends