Best PlacesLittle Switzerland, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Little Switzerland, 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.
Little Switzerland ranks 36,145th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Little Switzerland
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.
Little Switzerland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Little Switzerland ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeB+, better than 82% of towns
- Short commute21.6 minutes each way, better than 82% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of towns
Where Little Switzerland ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Household income$56,691 median, better than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Little Switzerland
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Little Switzerland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,691, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Little Switzerland's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Little Switzerland
Little Switzerland runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Little Switzerland.
Who works in Little Switzerland, and how
Work in Little Switzerland centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Little Switzerland
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Little Switzerland.
What the weather is like in Little Switzerland, month by month
Little Switzerland sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 74° | 59° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Little Switzerland
The nearest airport, Asheville Regional, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around Little Switzerland
Schools across Little Switzerland average a B+, better than 82% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- South Toe ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- North Cove Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Harris MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- West Mcdowell Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Mcdowell Early CollegeA+ · 85% proficient
- Mayland Early CollegeA+ · 80% proficient
- Mitchell HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Little Switzerland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Little Switzerland 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 Little Switzerland against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Little Switzerland
Is Little Switzerland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Little Switzerland ranks 36,145th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, state finances, and good schools, and lowest on a weak job market and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Little Switzerland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $126,493. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $56,691 median income, cost of living beats 22% of towns.
Is Little Switzerland safe?
Little Switzerland is safer than 39% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $371 per resident a year.
Compare Little Switzerland with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Little Switzerland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Little Switzerland 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.
Little Switzerland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Little Switzerland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Little Switzerland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Little Switzerland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Little Switzerland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Little Switzerland 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.