Cost of living in Asheville

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 $53,621, according to the US Census Bureau. State-wise, North Carolina is No. 39 in the country for median income at ~$56,642 per household.

The overall cost of living in Asheville is 6% higher than the national average , and ~16% 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 North Cacklacky and the country overall.

Breaking down the numbers

Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $50,000 annually — according to experts — you shouldn’t spend more than 30% of your monthly gross income on rent. Don’t worry, we did the math for you — your max monthly rent budget should be $1,250. However, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Asheville is $1,640 — putting you significantly over budget.

According to a recent study by Attom Data Solutions , it’s actually more affordable to rent than buy a home in Buncombe County.

Take a look at the chart below to see how Asheville’s cost of living compares to Raleigh.

Interested in seeing Asheville’s cost of living compared to 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 pre-tax household income to find out what other cities you could actually afford to live in.

We took a look at the cost of living in Asheville compared to Raleigh. Here’s what we found:

• The cost of living is 6% lower in Raleigh.
• To maintain our standard of living, we would need to bring in $46,844 to our household.
• The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,328, which is actually $91 more than Asheville — however, a median home price is $112,184 less in Raleigh.

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 nonprofit developers like Commonwealth Development to the microhousing developments on the South Slope to Haywood Street Community Development’s permanently affordable housing project.