Census-designated place · Henderson County, North Carolina

Valley Hill, North Carolina

Valley Hill is a census-designated place in Henderson County, North Carolina, part of the Asheville, NC metro area. It has 2,675 residents. Valley Hill, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 83 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,631 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #48 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), effective property tax rate (low) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), injury deaths (high) and homicide rate (high).

83Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,631 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #48 of 458 in NC
Population: 2,675 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,154.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3769640

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
Economy80#3,054/15,631
Housing48#7,767/14,977
Health63#5,800/15,609
Healthcare81#2,905/15,650
Environment98#229/15,453
Education89#1,653/15,649
Infrastructure71#4,612/15,650
Community72#4,353/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,582/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Valley Hill, 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
Effective property tax rate · low0.23%
99/100North Carolina 0.66%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100North Carolina 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
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

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
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
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100North Carolina 0.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,927 (2015-2019) → 2,675 (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
23.5% (2015-2019) → 73.8% (2020-2024)
+50 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
26.2% (2015-2019) → 6.3% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.1% (2015-2019) → 37.4% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
29.8% (2015-2019) → 43.6% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$66,659 (2015-2019) → $86,599 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Valley Hill, North Carolina improved on 2 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 7 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++14 points29.8% → 43.6%
Household income+30%$66,659 → $86,599

Declined1

Rent / income+14 points23.1% → 37.4%

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Valley Hill, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.9 min2015-2019	21.0 min2020-2024	−8.9 min	Within the margin of error	98%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.8%2015-2019	43.6%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	96%
Broadband subscriptions	91.0%2015-2019	91.4%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	9%
High school diploma or higher	91.2%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	71%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3992015-2019	0.3642020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$66,6592015-2019	$86,5992020-2024	+30%	Improved	55%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.1%2015-2019	37.4%2020-2024	+14 points	Declined	5%
Unemployment rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	49%

“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 Valley Hill, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Valley Hill, 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, Valley Hill, North Carolina itself moved −0.2 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

2,675 residents (±659)

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

1,101 households (±219)

Valley Hill, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k16%†173
$25k–50k7.0%†77
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,101 households (±219)

Valley Hill, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own80%880
Rent20%†221

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

1,153 workers (±363)

Valley Hill, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone80%927
Carpool4.5%†52
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 Valley Hill'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 $2,346 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Valley Hill, North Carolina: $0.88 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $2,346
Per resident: $0.88; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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 the Air Force$2,346100%

Top recipients

SOFWARE LLC$2,346100%

Spending by fiscal year

7.4KFY2017
3KFY2018
190.6FY2019
797.7FY2020
1.1KFY2022
1.1KFY2023
1.2KFY2024
2.3KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Software publishers · 5132$2,346100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Valley Hill, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Valley Hill, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Henderson County, NC ($201.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

Valley Hill, 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/3769640

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends