Bent CreekNC
A town of 1,384.
Is Bent Creek a good place to live?
The best of Bent Creek’s subject grades are an A for health and an A+ for the outdoors; the weakest is a C for cost of living. 45% of the land in Bent Creek is conserved, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 3.4% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Only 4 of North Carolina’s 451 towns score higher on the outdoors. Bent Creek has 1 place on the National Register. Bent Creek has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Bent Creek stand out
Where Bent Creek beats most towns.
1,384 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Bent Creek grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Bent Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Blue Ridge Parkway and 19 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bent Creek. Close and well known come first.
in town ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
Big draw26 mi MountainMount Mitchell
Big draw24 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
14 mi National forestPisgah National Forest27 mi Theme parkGhost Town in the Sky
in town GardenNorth Carolina ArboretumPhoto credits
Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Mount Mitchell: Unknown, Public domain · Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pisgah National Forest: Ken Thomas, Public domain · North Carolina Arboretum: Ken Thomas, Public domain
Moving to Bent Creek: who provides what
Bent Creek 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 Bent Creek.
Compared with most of North Carolina and the rest of the country, trail density in Bent Creek is higher
Pisgah National Forest, at 613 acres with 5.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Across 1 park or preserve: 6.2 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pisgah National Forest | 5.9 mi | 613 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Bent Creek is healthier than 89% of U.S. towns
30% of adults have obesity in Bent Creek. This North Carolina town does better than the North Carolina average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. Only 9 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Bent Creek. In Bent Creek, 28% of adults feel lonely, and 14% report frequent mental distress.
| Bent Creek | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 34% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bent Creek | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.4% | 15.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7% | 12.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
More middle-aged adults than North Carolina overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 58% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 4% of residents (23% statewide). Bent Creek’s midpoint age stands at 47.2 years, above both North Carolina’s towns (40.1 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). Just over a third of Bent Creek adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Bent Creek | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47.2 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 18% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±9.6 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 100% are men (NC 49%).
| Bent Creek | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.3% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.4% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.3% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 0.7% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 23.1% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 23.4% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.8% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.7% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.3% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.4% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.5% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.3% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 3.7% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
About half of Bent Creek’s working residents commute to Asheville
The share of residents in Bent Creek who live below the poverty line: 16%. Commuting out is the norm locally: 1% of working residents work locally. The town had 131 jobs in 2023, up 79 from 2013. For Bent Creek, the average trip to work is 20 minutes.
| Bent Creek | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The climate in Bent Creek brings four seasons and pleasant summers
For Bent Creek, the typical July afternoon high is 85°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Bent Creek faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in nearly two thirds of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 58% of Bent Creek’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 21% to cold waves.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median home in Bent Creek sells for about $632K
For households in Bent Creek, the share who own their home is 84%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Bent Creek
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Bent Creek
About 1 of every 100 Bent Creek residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
99% of working residents leave Bent Creek for work
Where Bent Creek’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Bent Creek
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
Bent Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,287 at the 2010 census. The Bent Creek area has mountain bike trails within the Pisgah National Forest.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,208 ft
Questions about Bent Creek
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bent Creek, NC expensive?
The typical home is worth about $404,000, 22% above 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 C.