Barker HeightsNC
A town of 1,074.
Is Barker Heights a good place to live?
The best of Barker Heights’ subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and the outdoors; the weakest is a D for incomes. 50% of residents live below the poverty line in Barker Heights, above both the North Carolina town median (13%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 6 of North Carolina’s 450 towns score higher on cost of living. 28% of the land in Barker Heights is conserved, against 3.4% in North Carolina’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 8 of North Carolina’s 451 towns score higher on the outdoors. The biggest park or preserve is Jackson Park, at 163 acres. Barker Heights has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Barker Heights stand out
Where Barker Heights beats most towns.
1,074 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Barker Heights grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Barker Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Barker Heights: who provides what
Barker Heights is unincorporated, so Henderson County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Barker Heights.
Public schools in Barker Heights beat 66% of North Carolina districts
Its public schools are run by The Mountain Community School. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Mountain Community SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 190 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Barker Heights has set aside nearly a quarter of its land for conservation
0.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jackson Park | 0.8 mi | 163 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median household income in Barker Heights is lower than in the typical North Carolina or U.S. town
The median household income in Barker Heights is $29,000. Since 2013, Barker Heights has added 123 jobs, to 177 in 2023. The average trip to work in Barker Heights is 16 minutes.
| Barker Heights | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $29,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.5% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Low risk in Barker Heights, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Barker Heights stands out in North Carolina and nationally, with more of its adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance
77% of Barker Heights adults had a checkup this year. Only 7 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Barker Heights. 23% of Barker Heights adults worry about having enough food.
| Barker Heights | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Barker Heights | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 7.9% |
| More uninsured adults | 18.4% | 10.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Barker Heights
Barker Heights has mild winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Barker Heights’ July high is 84°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A home in Barker Heights sells for about $330K at the median
41% of households own their home in Barker Heights.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Mount Mitchell and 27 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Barker Heights. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi MountainMount Mitchell
15 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
20 mi National forestPisgah National Forest
2 mi National Historic SiteCarl Sandburg Home National Historic Site95K visitors a year
36 mi LakeLake JocasseePhoto credits
Mount Mitchell: Unknown, Public domain · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pisgah National Forest: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site: Victoria Stauffenberg, Public domain · Lake Jocassee: Clemson3564, Public domain
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Everything we know about Barker Heights
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Barker Heights
About 7 of every 100 Barker Heights residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
99% of working residents leave Barker Heights for work
Where Barker Heights’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Barker Heights
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
Barker Heights is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Barker Heights had a population of 1,249. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,123 ft
Questions about Barker Heights
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Barker Heights, NC expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $190,000, 43% below the North Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.