Best PlacesMcDowell County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McDowell County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
McDowell County ranks 1,566th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McDowell County
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.
The best areas in McDowell County
The parts of McDowell County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Marion
Streets are more walkable, commutes are shorter, and more households have young kids.
Old Fort
Tree cover is thicker and it is quieter.
Nebo
Homes cost less, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Scores across McDowell County run from about the 14th to the 87th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
McDowell County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McDowell County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 88% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 87% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 80% of counties
Where McDowell County ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 10% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 19% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McDowell County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McDowell County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,184, 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 McDowell County'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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McDowell County
McDowell County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for McDowell County.
Who works in McDowell County, and how
Work in McDowell County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in McDowell County
McDowell County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of McDowell County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McDowell County growing, and who is moving in?
McDowell County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hickory, NC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McDowell County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McDowell County, month by month
McDowell County sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 31° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of McDowell County
The nearest airport, Asheville Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 68 miles away.
The best schools in and around McDowell County
Schools across McDowell County average a B+, better than 88% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Marion Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Old Fort Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Foothills Community SchoolA · 65% proficient
- West Mcdowell Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- East Mcdowell Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Mcdowell Early CollegeA+ · 85% proficient
- Mcdowell Academy For InnovationA− · 63% proficient
- Mcdowell High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McDowell County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McDowell County 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 McDowell County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who McDowell County suits
Common questions about living in McDowell County
Is McDowell County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McDowell County ranks 1,566th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, good schools, 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 McDowell County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $183,153. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $59,184 median income, cost of living beats 24% of counties.
Is McDowell County safe?
Yes, McDowell County is safer than 65% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $327 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McDowell County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 31. That works out to about 90 pleasant days a year, more than 51% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in McDowell County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Marion, Old Fort, and Nebo. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare McDowell County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McDowell County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McDowell County 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.
McDowell County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McDowell County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McDowell County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McDowell County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McDowell County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McDowell County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.