PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Asheville, NC

46.6
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#245
of 387 metros
37%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Asheville ranks #245 of 387 US metros, ahead of 37% - carried by its safety (96/100) and held back most by environment (4/100).

96
strongest: Safety
61
then: Childcare
4
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Asheville sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

47 37th percentile higher than 37% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Asheville Life Score

Asheville's composite score of 46.6 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #245 of 387, ahead of 37% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (96/100) and Childcare (61/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (4/100) and Rent (27/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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). Ranks #242-#248 below.

Dimension detail

How Asheville scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 35/100 (20%)
Wages 44/100 (20%)
Rent 27/100 (15%)
Safety 96/100 (15%)
Schools 58/100 (10%)
Childcare 61/100 (10%)
Environment 4/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

96.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,349
Avg Median Salary
$1,567
2BR Fair Market Rent
365
Violent Crime/100K (NC)
15.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$9,487
Infant Childcare/yr (NC)
42
Superfund Sites (NC)
172,630
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Asheville With...

Asheville vs Winston Compare → Asheville vs Greenville Compare → Asheville vs Rocky Mount Compare → Asheville vs Wildwood Compare → Asheville vs Waterloo Compare → Asheville vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Asheville outranks 37% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#242 Trenton-Princeton, NJ 46.7 C+
#243 El Centro, CA 46.7 C+
#244 Lewiston-Auburn, ME 46.8 C+
#245 Asheville, NC 46.6 C+
#246 El Paso, TX 46.6 C+
#247 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC 46.6 C+
#248 Gainesville, FL 46.5 C+

NC Metro Scores

Winston-Salem, NC A+ 69.8 Greenville, NC A+ 66.6 Rocky Mount, NC A+ 65.8 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC A 63.4 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC A- 59.2 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC B+ 58.6

Using Asheville's Life Score

Asheville is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (96/100) and its weakest is environment (4/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Asheville head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Asheville lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Asheville's biggest strengths? ▼
Asheville's strongest dimensions are Safety (96/100), Childcare (61/100), Schools (58/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Asheville's weakest areas? ▼
Asheville's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (4/100), Rent (27/100), Cost of Living (35/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Asheville compared to the national average? ▼
Asheville's Regional Price Parity is 96.5 (3.5% less than national); rent RPP 93.4.
What is the average salary in Asheville? ▼
Asheville median salary: $64,349, 172,630 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Asheville's 46.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.