BarnardsvilleNC
A town of 445, settled in 1875.
Is Barnardsville a good place to live?
Barnardsville has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
445 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Mount Mitchell and 17 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Barnardsville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi MountainMount Mitchell
6 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
Big draw32 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
35 mi National forestPisgah National Forest
27 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park
32 mi Park & preserveLinville Gorge WildernessPhoto 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 · Chimney Rock State Park: Jmturner, Public domain · Linville Gorge Wilderness: No machine-readable author provided. Amcbride~commonswiki assumed (based on copy, Public domain
Moving to Barnardsville: who provides what
Barnardsville is unincorporated, so Buncombe 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 Barnardsville.
More middle-aged adults than North Carolina overall
32% never finished high school. Barnardsville’s median age stands at 59.2 years, above both the North Carolina town median (40.1 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Adults 35 to 64 are just over two thirds of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 5% of residents (23% statewide).
| Barnardsville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 59.2 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 28% and 58% women
The Census survey reached too few of Barnardsville’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±15.1 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Barnardsville | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.5% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 0% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 0% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.9% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.4% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.9% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 46.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 3.8% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18.4% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 32% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.6% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 3.1% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 3.8% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 2.6% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 400, single groups can be off by several points
The schools Barnardsville’s kids attend
Public schools: the Buncombe County Schools. Its one school is below. 125 students attend Barnardsville’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnardsville ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 125 | C |
NCES · EDFacts
Very high risk in Barnardsville, with inland flooding at the top
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Barnardsville after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 83% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Barnardsville break down as 66% from inland flooding and 14% from cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
About one in three of Barnardsville’s working residents commute to Asheville
Commuting out is the norm in Barnardsville: 3% of working residents work locally. Since 2013, Barnardsville has added 41 jobs, to 135 in 2023. The top destinations are Asheville (36%), Weaverville (4%) and Fletcher (3%). Half commute less than 16 miles.
| Barnardsville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 9.7% | 13% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
A typical July afternoon in Barnardsville is cooler than in the typical North Carolina or U.S. town
Winters in Barnardsville are chilly and summers pleasant. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 25° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Barnardsville are worth about $396K, by Zillow’s estimate
Home values are down 1.8% over the year to September 2026. Among households in Barnardsville, 82% live in a home they own.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Barnardsville stands out in North Carolina and nationally, with fewer of its adults who had a checkup this year
In Barnardsville, just over one in ten adults worry about having enough food. The town does better than the North Carolina average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 3. Among 290 North Carolina towns, just 10 have a higher share of adults who binge drink than Barnardsville.
| Barnardsville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 80% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Barnardsville | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.7% | 8.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.2% | 12.2% |
| More binge drinkers | 17.8% | 14.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Barnardsville
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Barnardsville
About 0 of every 100 Barnardsville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
97% of working residents leave Barnardsville for work
Where Barnardsville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Barnardsville
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
Barnardsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 559. Located on Ivy Creek, the settlement is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,339 ft
- ZIP code
- 28709
Questions about Barnardsville
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Barnardsville, NC a good place to live?
Barnardsville has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.