Asheville was recently ranked as one of the Best Places to Live by US News & World Report.

Our mountain city was listed no. 34 out of 150 other cities in the US – and landed smack dab between Lincoln, NE + Spartanburg, SC. ⬇️

Asheville’s overall score was 6.9/10. Here’s how we scored in each section + what it means.

7.4/10 on “Quality of Life.” Multiple aspects of life were evaluated via surveys, along with statistics concerning crime rates, health care availability, education quality, and more.
7/10 on “Desirability.” This concerns peoples’ opinions about living in the area. To find this, 3,000 people were surveyed about where they’d want to live in the US.
6.3/10 on “Job Market.” The unemployment rate + average salary were factored in to determine how strong the job market is currently.
7.6/10 on “Net Migration.” Net Migration determines whether the area is attracting new residents and this data was pulled from the US Census Bureau.
6.4/10 on “Value.” This metric measures the comfort levels for residents when it comes to area affordability. Results were determined by comparing “median annual household income with the housing cost in each metro area.”

Asheville was also recently named one of the top places in the US to retire. Time to bring on the golden years.

The report comes at a time when so-called Zoom Towns, a.k.a. places with a high quality of living where people can work remotely, is on a lot of folks’ – especially locals’ – minds.The median home price in the city of Asheville rose to $355,000 during the third quarter of 2020. That’s the highest median quarterly price on record, according to local realtors.

Experts say the continued demand and uptick in pricing for residential properties is in part due to Asheville’s attractiveness as a Zoom Town. 🏠 Based on our recent ranking and these qualities, it looks like we all might be welcoming a few more new neighbors soon.