Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,491, settled in 1880. 71% more nonprofits per person than the typical North Carolina town.
Trash day: look up yoursFor most people who can afford it, yes. Black Mountain grades B overall, 51st among North Carolina's 286 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 86% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $451K for a typical one and 6.3 times the Asheville metro’s $72K median household income. 12% of residents are under 18 in Black Mountain, against 22% in North Carolina’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. Only 3 of North Carolina’s 331 towns score higher on civic life. Black Mountain has 10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Blue Ridge Assembly Historic District and Intheoaks.
Where Black Mountain beats most towns.
Census counts: 209 in 1900, 8,426 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1894 and 5 maps from 1935 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Black Mountain is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Black Mountain. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi MountainMount Mitchell
6 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
Big draw38 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
32 mi National forestPisgah National Forest
13 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park
31 mi Park & preserveLinville Gorge WildernessMount 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Black Mountain, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Black Mountain.
Black Mountain fares better on crime within North Carolina than nationally and draws workers from Asheville and beyond, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of North Carolina.
5.2 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Black Mountain’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Veterans Park, at 20 acres.
| Black Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Tomahawk Park | 0.6 mi | 18 |
| 2. Veterans Park | 0.1 mi | 20 |
| 3. Youth Center Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Buncombe County Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Mountain PrimaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 351 | B+ |
| Black Mountain Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 20 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
4,923 jobs are based in Black Mountain, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Black Mountain for work: only 17% work in town. 20% of Black Mountain workers work from home. Jobs based in Black Mountain grew to 4,923 in 2023, 839 more than in 2013.
| Black Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 20% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
26% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Black Mountain. Black Mountain beats the North Carolina average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 10% of adults smoke cigarettes in Black Mountain.
| Black Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Black Mountain | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.6% | 12.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.3% | 15.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.4% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 6.3 years of the Asheville metro’s $72K median household income, the typical home (about $451K) costs more against local pay than in 88% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. 64% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.9% across North Carolina.
The median rent in Black Mountain is $1,652 a month. The typical Black Mountain home is worth about $451,000, down 3.8% in a year, 36% above the North Carolina typical home.
| Black Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,652 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 59 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Black Mountain.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 26.7°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 93% of North Carolina places with climate records; July afternoons average 82°.
Among 290 North Carolina towns, just 2 have a lower July high than Black Mountain. Black Mountain has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain.
| Black Mountain | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 82°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 27°F | 31°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 91% of North Carolina’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 120 to 94 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
5 within 15 miles of the center of Black Mountain
About 4 of every 100 Black Mountain residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Where Black Mountain’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 places in Black Mountain on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Black Mountain.
Town in the United States
Black Mountain is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,426 at the 2020 United States census. It is part of the Asheville metropolitan area. The town is named for the old train stop at the Black Mountain Depot and is located at the southern end of the Black Mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Southern Appalachians.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Black Mountain.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Mountain | #51 | B | D | B | B | A |
| Swannanoa | #36 | B+ | B+ | — | B | B+ |
| Montreat | — | — | D | — | B | A |
Montreat has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Swannanoa and Montreat report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Black Mountain with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Black Mountain grades B overall, better than 65% of U.S. towns and #51 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A for health, B for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
5 notable people were born here, including Roberta Flack and Brad Daugherty.
