Should I Move To
Asheville, North Carolina comes in at about 93,695 residents. Cost of living comes out moderate — 5% below the national average. Rent typically lands near $1,250/mo, and the median household income is about $63,810. Overall, 55/100 on our composite score, which works out to a C, putting it at #310 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Cost-of-living index of 95 (with 100 as the US baseline) — that's moderate territory. With median rent at $1,250/mo and median household income at $63,810, housing takes about 24% of gross income — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Homes typically value around $376,800.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →Expect four-season weather — summers near 87°F, winters around 32°F. Rain (and snow, in some seasons) totals about 52 inches annually. You'll need a car for most things, though the central core is more walkable than the citywide score suggests. Crime runs notably high by national standards. As always, neighborhood-level data tells a more nuanced story than the citywide figure. AQI runs about 34 — a "good" reading.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
On the families profile, Asheville sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 55/100 — a C. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (91/100); the soft spot is safety (5/100).
On the retirees profile, Asheville sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 55/100 — a C. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (91/100); the soft spot is safety (5/100).
On the remote workers profile, Asheville sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 61/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (91/100); the soft spot is safety (5/100).
Asheville is a tougher sell for young professionals. The profile-weighted score is 50/100 — a D. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (91/100); the soft spot is safety (5/100).
Our overall score for Asheville is 55/100 — a C, sitting at #310 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Asheville sits at 95 — moderate, 5% below the national average. Median renter pays around $1,250 a month.
Asheville runs four-season on the weather. Summer's near 87°F, winter's near 32°F; 52 inches of precipitation annually.
Walk Score: 34/100. You'll need a car for most things, though the central core is more walkable than the citywide score suggests.
Roughly 93,695 people live here, with 51% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 41.
Drop Asheville into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Asheville with other North Carolina cities scored on UrbRank.
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