Metro Life Score
Asheville, NC
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 26th percentile of the national corpus.
- 44.6
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #285
- of 387 metros
- 26%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Asheville is below-median composite Life Score — #285 of 387 (44.6/100, grade C, 26th percentile). Carried by childcare at 61/100; held back most by rent at 27/100.
- 26th
- composite percentile
- #285
- of 387 peers
- 35th
- cost dimension percentile
- 52nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature composite
Asheville: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Asheville sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#285 of 387, 44.6/100, 26th percentile). Stamps LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE; Rent at 27/100 is the main drag; Childcare (61/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks DEAR/MID. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Asheville, NC ranks #285 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #251 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 96.5 (rent-RPP 93.4). BLS median salary $64,349, 172,630 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,567/mo (studio $1,227).
FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 15.8:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC).
Where Asheville sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
45 26th percentile higher than 26% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
Dimension detail
How Asheville scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are NC state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Asheville With...
Ranking Context
Asheville outranks 26% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #282 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | 44.7 | C |
| #283 | Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 44.7 | C |
| #284 | Corvallis, OR | 44.8 | C |
| #285 | Asheville, NC | 44.6 | C |
| #286 | Sherman-Denison, TX | 44.6 | C |
| #287 | Syracuse, NY | 44.6 | C |
| #288 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | 44.4 | C |
NC Metro Scores
Read with Asheville
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Asheville (LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Sherman-Denison, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 44.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/MID.
Syracuse, NY
ABS(composite) peer at 44.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/MID.
Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 44.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/MID.
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 44.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/MID.
Bangor, ME (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 35/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Cheyenne, WY (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 35/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Asheville, NC relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.