Hendersonville, North Carolina

Area Profile

15,408 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hendersonville, in Henderson County.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 41% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,967th of 4,199 cities measured46
SchoolsTop 20% of 4,162 cities measured73
GrowthTop 25% of 4,224 cities measured63
Housing affordability3,558th of 4,218 cities measured45
ClimateTop 43% of 4,225 cities measured72
Physical resilienceTop 40% of 4,226 cities measured67
AccessTop 16% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stability2,884th of 4,226 cities measured48
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 3.2% and the Opportunity signal places Hendersonville in the bottom 29%. The unemployment rate is published for Henderson County, NC, which contains Hendersonville, rather than for Hendersonville alone.

In the public schools here, 52% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.2 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Henderson County, NC, which contains Hendersonville, rather than for Hendersonville alone.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 1,145 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 28% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Henderson County, NC, which contains Hendersonville, rather than for Hendersonville alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
15,408
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$53,449
Bottom 28% nationally
Density
1,953/sq mi
7.9 sq mi of land
Median age
53.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
North Carolina
Metro area
Nearest major airport
AVL
9 mi · Asheville Rgnl
Median home value
$317,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Henderson County, NC, which contains Hendersonville, is 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Henderson County, NC, which contains Hendersonville, fell 2.9% over the past year, to 53,873 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 79% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHenderson County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$83,68564th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHenderson County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$68,71941st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,8352024 ACS 5-Year$53,449Bottom 28%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,8662024 ACS 5-Year$40,007Top 33%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%Bottom 40%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.0 minTop 21%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year38.1%Top 21%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year75.8%45th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentHenderson County, NC’s figureJuly 202653,873Bottom 48%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Henderson County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−6.1%Bottom 2%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Henderson County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−2.9%Bottom 10%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceHenderson County, NC’s figureJuly 202655,64348th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year78.5%Top 49%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAsheville, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,490Bottom 16%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageAsheville, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,870Bottom 16%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Henderson County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateHenderson County, NC’s figureJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%55th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202453k46k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $53,449 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Asheville, NC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons5,570$34,110
Registered Nurses4,680$81,590
Cashiers4,240$29,400
Stockers and Order Fillers3,980$37,120
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,850$28,810
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand3,360$38,440

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Henderson County, NC, which contains this city.

52% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Henderson County, NC, which contains Hendersonville, rather than for Hendersonville alone.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Henderson County, NC, which contains Hendersonville, rather than for Hendersonville alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
15.2
Math proficiency
52.2%
Top 23% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
55.3%
Top 22% in North Carolina

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Henderson County, NC: too few schools in Hendersonville reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against North Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 3% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 97.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Asheville, NC Metro Area is up 45% over five years, and up 1.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,398 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.76% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,835, some 38% above the $1,332 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,835 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $73,400 a year, about 137% of the median household income here of $53,449.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,332 a month.

A median home at $317,000 costs 4.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $64,987, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
97.4

Prices here run about 3% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Asheville, NC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
33.4%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,835
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,332
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$317,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Hendersonville’s median household income of $53,449, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Asheville, NC Metro Area’s figure202397.4Top 35%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Asheville, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.4%29th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Asheville, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+45.3%59th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Asheville, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+107.9%73rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year4.9Bottom 9%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year46.1%7th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4532024 ACS 5-Year8,88493rd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,674Bottom 35%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,231Bottom 48%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,835Bottom 40%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$762024 ACS 5-Year$1,332Bottom 26%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,3282024 ACS 5-Year$317,00074th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1332024 ACS 5-Year$2,39864th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,3282024 ACS 5-Year$64,987Bottom 30%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.76%34th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year33.4%Bottom 25%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1222024 ACS 5-Year21094th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.4%71st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.0%44th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2552024 ACS 5-Year74193rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

63/ 100
Top 25% of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 15,656 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Henderson County, which contains Hendersonville, gained about 1.0% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $83,685, above the $68,719 of households that moved out.

At 9.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Henderson County, NC, which contains Hendersonville, rather than for Hendersonville alone.

Units permitted
1,145
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.7
Top 12% nationally
Year over year
+28%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
47.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202416k15k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
50%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$83,685
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$68,719
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Buncombe County, NC 1,840 people · 28% of arrivals
  2. Transylvania County, NC 247 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  3. Polk County, NC 178 people · 2.7% of arrivals
  4. Mecklenburg County, NC 143 people · 2.2% of arrivals
  5. Spartanburg County, SC 115 people · 1.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Buncombe County, NC 1,170 people · 21% of departures
  2. Greenville County, SC 315 people · 5.6% of departures
  3. Spartanburg County, SC 303 people · 5.4% of departures
  4. Transylvania County, NC 260 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. Polk County, NC 162 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Henderson County, NC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Hendersonville, NC is not one. This is the figure for Henderson County, NC, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 27°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 51.4 inches.

20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ASHEVILLE 13 S, 8.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals51.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals27°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

67 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 47% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Ice stormElevated
Cold waveModerate
LandslideModerate
LightningModerate
HailModerate
EarthquakeElevated
DroughtModerate
HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, inland flooding, tornado, wildfire, winter weather, heat wave, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
323
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,854
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Hendersonville's police department reported 323 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,854.

Henderson County has a modeled homicide rate of about 6.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 17.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.1 per 100,000 residents in Henderson County.

Homicide
6.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
20.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Hendersonville’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Hendersonville (Henderson County) rather than Hendersonville itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Asheville Rgnl at 9 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.8%Bottom 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle9 miTop 24%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%Bottom 46%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Asheville RgnlAVL9 mi8,002 ft
Donaldson FldGYH39 mi8,000 ft
Tri-CitiesTRI80 mi8,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
61
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—

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Other cities in Asheville, NC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
AshevilleBuncombe County94,53564Asheville vs Hendersonville

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Hendersonville side by side with a similar place.

Hendersonville vs Central FallsHendersonville vs Casselberry

Moving to Hendersonville from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.