With the 828 constantly growing and undertaking new developments, let’s discuss the cost of planting some roots in the Land of Sky.
The median household income in Asheville is $63,810, according to the US Census Bureau. State-wise, North Carolina is No. 40 in the country for median income at ~$61,972 per household.
The overall cost of living in Asheville is ~6% higher than the national average, and ~15% higher than the rest of the state.
In Asheville, the cost of healthcare is higher compared to other parts of the state + the US. And the cost of groceries, housing, and other miscellaneous expenses in the city have higher average costs than other cities in the Tar Heel State and in the country overall.
Breaking down the numbers
Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $60,000 annually, your max monthly budget for rent and utilities would be about $1,500 (30% of your monthly gross income). The average monthly rent for an apartment in Asheville is $1,711 — putting you significantly over budget.
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering how much you can currently afford to spend on buying a home in Asheville, try using SmartAsset’s cost calculator. Factors like your marital status, annual pretax income, down payment, and monthly debt, will help determine that figure. According to BestPlaces, the median home cost in Asheville is $428,500.
While we’re crunching numbers, let’s also take a look at the chart below to see how Asheville’s cost of living compares to that of Charlotte’s.
Interested in seeing Asheville’s cost of living compared with cities in other states? We played around on NerdWallet’s cost of living calculator, where you can put in any city along with your current pretax household income to find out what other cities you could afford to live in.
We took a look at the cost of living in Asheville compared with Asheville. Here’s what we found:
- The cost of living is 2% lower in Charlotte.
- To maintain our standard of living, we would need to bring in $62,640 to our Charlotte household.
- The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,438, which is $5 less than Asheville — however, a median home price is ~$55,000 less in Charlotte.
Local housing + developments
Asheville does have organizations such as the Mountain Housing Opportunities, Thrive Asheville + other government-funded programs that are working to help develop more affordable housing units.
There are also a number of entities working on apartments seemingly all the time — from turning county-owned property on Coxe Avenue into affordable housing to a 234-unit complex coming closer to fruition in the RAD.
