East Flat RockNC
Population 6,323: a town settled in 1908.
Is East Flat Rock a good place to live?
Cost of living is where it shines (B+): a typical home costs about $288K, 4 years of the Asheville metro’s $72K median household income. With a B overall, East Flat Rock is better than 64% of U.S. towns and ranks 55th of 286 in North Carolina. It also does well on schools — its schools rank ahead of 66% of North Carolina towns. The trade-off is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 67% of the country. Incomes are weaker too: the median household income is $60K, and 13% of residents live below the poverty line. Only 7 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower typical July afternoon high than East Flat Rock. The town is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
What makes East Flat Rock stand out
Where East Flat Rock beats most towns.
East Flat Rock has grown 15% from 2010 to 2020
4,995 counted in 2010 and 5,757 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How East Flat Rock grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far East Flat Rock is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to East Flat Rock: who provides what
East Flat Rock 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 East Flat Rock.
East Flat Rock carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of North Carolina (mostly inland flooding), is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of North Carolina.
Natural hazards: very low risk in East Flat Rock, mostly inland flooding
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 97% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $100 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in East Flat Rock after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. The town’s risk rating from FEMA stands at 14 of 100, against 47 of 100 in North Carolina’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. 5 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 2024. Expected losses in East Flat Rock break down as 36% from inland flooding and 29% from cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
East Flat Rock’s grade for schools is a B+
Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. Its public schools are run by the Henderson County Schools. The largest public high school is East Henderson High, with 932 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat Rock MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 748 | C+ |
| East Henderson HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 932 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
A larger share of adults 18 to 64 in East Flat Rock have no health insurance than in the typical North Carolina or U.S. town
Against the 8,795 U.S. towns with household incomes like East Flat Rock’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
The share of adults in East Flat Rock who worry about having enough food: 22%. Among adults in the town, 78% had a checkup this year, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 80% and U.S. towns at 79%. In East Flat Rock, 24% of adults say their health is fair or poor, and 29% get no exercise outside work.
| East Flat Rock | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 19% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | East Flat Rock | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 19% | 10.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.5% | 15.2% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 16.3% | 12.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
East Flat Rock stands out in North Carolina and nationally: a typical July afternoon there is cooler
Expect mild winters and pleasant summers in East Flat Rock, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 29° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most of East Flat Rock’s workers commute out: the town has 0.8 jobs for each of them
The average commute for its 2,091 working residents takes 17.7 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
The top destinations are Hendersonville (21%), Asheville (12%) and Charlotte (5%). Commuting out is the norm in East Flat Rock: 6% of working residents work locally. In East Flat Rock, the typical journey to work is 18 minutes. Half the trips to work are shorter than 13 miles.
| East Flat Rock | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.8% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
East Flat Rock’s grade for cost of living is a B+
A typical home in East Flat Rock is worth about $288,000, down 4% in a year, 13% below the North Carolina typical home. 64% of East Flat Rock households are owner-occupiers. The rent at the middle of the market in the town is $1,015 a month.
| East Flat Rock | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,015 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Mount Mitchell and 26 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around East Flat Rock. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi MountainMount Mitchell
17 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
22 mi National forestPisgah National Forest
2 mi National Historic SiteCarl Sandburg Home National Historic Site95K visitors a year
36 mi LakeLake Jocassee
14 mi State parkChimney Rock State ParkPhoto credits
Mount Mitchell: Unknown, Public domain · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Pisgah National Forest: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site: Victoria Stauffenberg, Public domain · Lake Jocassee: Clemson3564, Public domain · Chimney Rock State Park: Jmturner, Public domain
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Everything we know about East Flat Rock
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of East Flat Rock
About 3 of every 100 East Flat Rock residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
About East Flat Rock
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
East Flat Rock is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, East Flat Rock had a population of 5,757. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,201 ft
- ZIP code
- 28726
- Area code
- 828
East Flat Rock’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with East Flat Rock.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Flat Rock | #55 | B | B+ | — | B+ | C |
| Flat Rock | #69 | B | C | — | B+ | A− |
| Hendersonville | #182 | C− | C− | C− | B+ | B− |
| Barker Heights | — | — | A+ | — | B+ | C |
Barker Heights has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. East Flat Rock, Flat Rock and Barker Heights report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare East Flat Rock with a neighbor →
Questions about East Flat Rock
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is East Flat Rock, NC a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. East Flat Rock grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #55 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades C for health and B+ for schools.
Is East Flat Rock, NC expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.