LinvilleNC
The town was settled in 1888 and has 291 residents today.
Is Linville a good place to live?
Linville’s peak summer temperature is 75°F, against 89°F in North Carolina’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. Of the 291 North Carolina towns we compare, none has a higher share of households owning their home than Linville. Linville Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Linville has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
What makes Linville stand out
Where Linville beats most towns.
291 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Blue Ridge Parkway and 14 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Linville. Close and well known come first.
in town ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
Big draw30 mi MountainMount Mitchell
5 mi MountainGrandfather Mountain14 mi Theme parkTweetsie Railroad8 mi Theme parkLand of Oz
4 mi Ski areaSugar Mountain Resort26 runs · 1,171 ft verticalPhoto credits
Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Mount Mitchell: Unknown, Public domain · Grandfather Mountain: Original uploader was KyleAndMelissa22 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Sugar Mountain Resort: Mark Clifton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Moving to Linville: who provides what
Linville is unincorporated, so Avery 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 Linville.
A job hub: Linville has 2.8 jobs for every working resident and draws in 248 commuters
2.2% of working residents work locally in Linville. Since 2013, Linville has added 136 jobs, to 250 in 2023. Half the trips to work are shorter than 17 miles. The top destinations are Boone (8%), Sugar Mountain (6%) and North Wilkesboro (4%).
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Linville is
Among adults in Linville, 44% have high blood pressure and 30% sleep under 7 hours. This North Carolina town does better than the North Carolina average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 7. In Linville, 28% of adults feel lonely.
| Linville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Linville | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.6% | 12.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.3% | 8.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.4% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Linville has a moderate natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Federal aid has come to Linville households in 3 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. 75% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 6%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Everything we know about Linville
Colleges nearby
4 within 15 miles of the center of Linville
About 0 of every 100 Linville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Every workday, about 248 people come to Linville for work
Where Linville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Linville
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
Linville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Avery County, North Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 283. Centered just south of US 221 and NC 105, the community is known as a summer mountain resort and host of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, the largest modern Highland games events in North Carolina.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Elevation
- 3,665 ft
- ZIP code
- 28646
Questions about Linville
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Linville, NC a good place to live?
Linville has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.