Metro area · North Carolina

Asheville, NC metro area

Asheville, NC is a metropolitan area of 3 counties in North Carolina, home to 422,345 residents. Asheville, NC metro area has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #141 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in North Carolina it ranks #6 of 38. It ranks best on hot days (low), primary care physicians (high) and new homes permitted (high). It ranks worst on home price to income ratio (high), uninsured residents (under 65) (high) and injury deaths (high).

85Very high
Quality-of-life score
#141 of 925 metro and micro areas
North Carolina
#6 of 38 in NC
Population
422,345 (2025)
Land area
1,479 mi²
Density
285.6 /mi²
CBSA code
11700

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Asheville, NC metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety27#675/924
  • Economy72#260/925
  • Housing25#690/925
  • Health73#247/925
  • Healthcare85#141/923
  • Environment95#49/917
  • Education85#137/925
  • Infrastructure85#139/925
  • Community85#139/925
  • Leisure & amenities96#41/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Asheville, NC metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

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.

Metro and micro areas like Asheville, NC metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Asheville, NC metro area 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.

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).

Income

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

Homes

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

Getting to work

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

Jobs and pay

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

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.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Asheville, NC

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Buncombe CountyCentral county81277,417
  2. Henderson CountyCentral county83122,375
  3. Madison CountyOutlying county6122,553

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. AshevillePrincipal city94,535

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Asheville94,535
  2. Hendersonville15,408
  3. Black Mountain8,513
  4. Fletcher8,098
  5. Woodfin8,048
  6. Etowah7,968
  7. Mills River7,281
  8. Swannanoa6,901
  9. East Flat Rock6,323
  10. Weaverville4,687
  11. Royal Pines4,325
  12. Dana4,147
  13. Flat Rock3,530
  14. Mountain Home3,437
  15. Mars Hill3,025
  16. Avery Creek2,887
  17. Edneyville2,716
  18. Valley Hill2,675
  19. Emma2,657
  20. Laurel Park2,408
  21. Fruitland2,398
  22. Fairview2,298
  23. Hoopers Creek1,683
  24. Biltmore Forest1,587

Other metro and micro areas in North Carolina

Areas based in North Carolina, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M11700