More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Asheville to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Asheville are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Asheville ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Asheville area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Asheville proper, although Laurel Park certainly tries.
We examined the 13 biggest suburbs of Asheville to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in North Carolina lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Asheville in terms of quality of life.
$50,997 median income · $319,040 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Burnsville, the absolute worst place to live around Asheville according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Burnsville beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Asheville area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Burnsville.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
$54,923 median income · $355,352 median home price
Located in
Haywood County, North Carolina
Welcome to Waynesville. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 25.8 miles to Asheville. Income levels here are the 4th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $54,923 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$71,384 median income · $427,001 median home price
Located in
Buncombe County, North Carolina
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Asheville suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Woodfin on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Asheville suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$69,924 median income · $290,715 median home price
If you live in Canton, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 5th lowest Asheville suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 13th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Asheville. Remember, we looked at 13 cities for this study.
Canton is about 16.8 miles to downtown.
Data | Movers
$53,449 median income · $405,676 median home price
Located in
Henderson County, North Carolina
Hendersonville has the distinction of being a Asheville suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Hendersonville has the 4th lowest home values in the metro Asheville area, where the median price is $405,676. The median income is $105,398.
Hendersonville has an unemployment rate of 3.2% which ranks 7th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$54,103 median income · $464,518 median home price
Located in
Transylvania County, North Carolina
Brevard has 7,897 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 15.1%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$75,272 median income · $446,279 median home price
Located in
Henderson County, North Carolina
Ah, Fletcher. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Asheville.
It’s the place with the 8th most out of work residents in the Asheville metro area (3.0%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,042 median income · $463,739 median home price
Located in
Buncombe County, North Carolina
Black Mountain is a city about 13.0 miles from Asheville, but Asheville probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Black Mountain has the 9th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 4th highest unemployment rate (3.9%) in the entire Asheville metro area.
Homes only cost $463,739 for a reason. That’s cheap for Asheville standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$81,429 median income · $415,655 median home price
If you absolutely have to live near Asheville, then Mars Hill might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Asheville suburb.
About 4.5% of residents are out of work.
$95,098 median income · $464,129 median home price
Rounding out the ten worst Asheville suburbs to call home is Flat Rock.
Located 21.8 miles outside the city, Flat Rock is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 2nd highest unemployment rate (5.1%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Carolina’s statewide median.
North Carolina statewide median: $72,388
North Carolina statewide median: $336,408
North Carolina statewide median: 4.7%
North Carolina statewide median: 13.0%
On the map
Where the worst Asheville suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Asheville for 2026
To figure out how bad a Asheville suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Asheville.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 13 suburbs to evaluate around Asheville.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 13 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Asheville.” We’re looking at you, Burnsville.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Asheville.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Asheville Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnsville | 3.21 | 2,082 | $50,997 | $319,040 |
| 2 | Waynesville | 4.57 | 10,502 | $54,923 | $355,352 |
| 3 | Woodfin | 5.21 | 8,048 | $71,384 | $427,001 |
| 4 | Canton | 5.57 | 4,419 | $69,924 | $290,715 |
| 5 | Hendersonville | 5.64 | 15,408 | $53,449 | $405,676 |
| 6 | Brevard | 6.79 | 7,897 | $54,103 | $464,518 |
| 7 | Fletcher | 7.57 | 8,098 | $75,272 | $446,279 |
| 8 | Black Mountain | 7.71 | 8,513 | $77,042 | $463,739 |
| 9 | Mars Hill | 7.79 | 3,025 | $81,429 | $415,655 |
| 10 | Flat Rock | 8.00 | 3,530 | $95,098 | $464,129 |
| 11 | Mills River | 9.21 | 7,281 | $105,398 | $530,766 |
| 12 | Weaverville | 9.29 | 4,687 | $88,221 | $468,960 |
| 13 | Laurel Park | 10.43 | 2,408 | $90,000 | $473,206 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 13 suburbs within 30 miles of Asheville.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Asheville where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Asheville with Burnsville casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Asheville are Burnsville, Waynesville, Woodfin, Canton, Hendersonville, Brevard, Fletcher, Black Mountain, Mars Hill, and Flat Rock.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Asheville aren’t all bad. Laurel Park takes the cake as the best place to live around Asheville. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Asheville FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Asheville?
Burnsville ranks as the worst suburb around Asheville for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Waynesville and Woodfin are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Asheville?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Asheville are Burnsville, Waynesville, Woodfin, Canton, Hendersonville, Brevard, Fletcher, Black Mountain, Mars Hill, and Flat Rock. We scored all 13 places within 30 miles.
Why does Burnsville rank as the worst suburb?
Burnsville posts the roughest combined numbers of the 13 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $50,997, a median home value of $319,040, and a poverty rate of 26.1%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Asheville?
Laurel Park lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Asheville by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Asheville list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
