Best PlacesCandler, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Candler, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Candler ranks 1,292nd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Candler
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Candler's strengths and weaknesses
Where Candler ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 95% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of cities
Where Candler ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 2% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Candler
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Candler home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $68,907, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Candler's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Candler
Candler runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Candler.
Who works in Candler, and how
Work in Candler centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Candler
Candler has more parkland per resident than 83% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Candler and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Candler, month by month
Candler sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Candler
The nearest airport, Asheville Regional, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around Candler
Schools across Candler average a B, better than 62% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Hendersonville ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Meadowbrook ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- West Buncombe ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rugby MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Enka MiddleA− · 53% proficient
- Canton MiddleA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Henderson County Early CollegeA+ · 93% proficient
- Haywood Early CollegeA+ · 92% proficient
- Enka HighA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Candler school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Candler measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Candler against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Candler suits
Retirees
The weather beats 70% of cities, health care access beats 66%, and it is quieter than 79%.
Common questions about living in Candler
Is Candler a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Candler ranks 1,292nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on heat safety, tree cover, and state finances, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Candler expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $328,905. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $68,907 median income, cost of living beats 19% of cities.
Is Candler safe?
Yes, Candler is safer than 61% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $310 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Candler?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 27. That works out to about 120 pleasant days a year, more than 70% of cities.
Is Candler good for families?
Schools beat 62% of cities, crime safety beats 61%, and childcare runs $853 a month.
Compare Candler with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Candler. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Candler represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Candler detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Candler: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Candler: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Candler: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Candler: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Candler detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.