Mast Farm · National Register of Historic Places
Valle Crucis’s story
Valle Crucis in pictures
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Valle CrucisNC
A town of 242 in North Carolina.
Mast Farm · Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0
Population
242
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$464K
Census ACS
Median age
53.1
years
Jobs based here
95
Balanced
Is Valle Crucis a good place to live?
78% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Valle Crucis, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 29% and U.S. towns at 29%. Among 291 North Carolina towns, just one has a lower typical July afternoon high than Valle Crucis. 19% of the land in Valle Crucis is conserved, above both the North Carolina town median (3.4%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Valle Crucis has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Valle Crucis Historic District and Mast Farm. Valle Crucis has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Small town
242 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Nearby attractions
All 28 attractions →Blue Ridge Parkway and 14 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Valle Crucis. Close and well known come first.
5 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
7 mi MountainGrandfather Mountain9 mi Theme parkTweetsie Railroad5 mi Theme parkLand of Oz
34 mi MountainMount Rogers
7 mi Ski areaSugar Mountain Resort26 runs · 1,171 ft verticalSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Grandfather Mountain: Original uploader was KyleAndMelissa22 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Mount Rogers: USDA-FS, Public domain · Sugar Mountain Resort: Mark Clifton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Getting set up
Moving to Valle Crucis: who provides what
Valle Crucis is unincorporated, so Watauga County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerNew River Light & Power12.1¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesWatauga CountyWatauga County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn North Carolina you can register online until 25 days before Election Day, in person with same-day registration during the early voting period, or by mail (postmarked 25 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereWatauga County Board of ElectionsWatauga County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, May 2019
ZIP codes28604, 2867928604 63% · 28679 37%Census 2020
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 Valle Crucis.
Schools
The schools Valle Crucis’s kids attend
The Watauga County Schools runs its public schools. Its one school is below. Valle Crucis’ only public school teaches 345 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valle Crucis ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 345 | B |
NCES · EDFacts
Outdoors
18.8% of Valle Crucis is conserved land
The biggest park or preserve is Valle Crucis Scenic Overlook, at 33 acres. 6.4 miles of trail wind through 2 parks and preserves. The concentration of trails for Valle Crucis comes to 1.5 miles per square mile.
18.8%conserved
18.8%
conserved · 535 of 2,841 acres
6.4 mi
of trails · 1.5 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Valle Crucis Community Park | 0.3 mi | 26 |
| 2. Valle Crucis Scenic Overlook | 0.2 mi | 33 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazards
Natural hazards: high risk in Valle Crucis, mostly inland flooding
For Valle Crucis, the FEMA hazard score is 68 of 100. FEMA puts 73% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 10% to cold waves. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
68risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesLandslides
3
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Valle Crucis: snowy winters and pleasant summers
Among 291 North Carolina towns, just one has a lower January low than Valle Crucis. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 24° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
48″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter26–45°
Spring39–63°
Summer57–79°
Fall41–64°
Oct 24
typical first frost
Apr 18
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commute
Valle Crucis has 0.8 jobs per working resident, so most workers leave town for work
Among residents in Valle Crucis, 6.2% live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Boone (27%), Blowing Rock (5%) and Foscoe (5%). Half of commuters travel less than 8 miles.
0%work in town
Where working residents work
In Valle Crucis0%
Boone27%
Blowing Rock5%
Foscoe5%
Granite Falls2%
8 mi
median commute distance
95
jobs based in Valle Crucis
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Health
How healthy Valle Crucis is
For adults in Valle Crucis, the share who binge drink is 15%. CDC measures, 32 in all: Valle Crucis beats North Carolina on 7 and trails on 2. Among adults locally, 30% feel lonely and 10% worry about having enough food.
| Valle Crucis | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
32 measures vs. North Carolina
7 better23 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Valle Crucis | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 15.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.2% | 12.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.5% | 7.9% |
Watauga Medical Center
8.1 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Housing
Homes in Valle Crucis sell for about $840K
In Valle Crucis, 75% of households are owner-occupiers.
$840Kmedian sale price
1
homes sold in September
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Valle Crucis
17pages on Valle Crucis
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Valle Crucis
Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese MedicineUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Sugar Grove3.3 miLees-McRae CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Banner Elk5.6 mi$33,250 tuitionAppalachian State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Boone6.5 mi$7,579 in-state tuition
About 0 of every 100 Valle Crucis residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Landmarks
4 places in Valle Crucis on the National Register of Historic Places.
Questions about Valle Crucis
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Valle Crucis, NC a good place to live?
Valle Crucis has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.