Best PlacesTransylvania County, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Transylvania County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Transylvania County ranks 691st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Transylvania 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.
Transylvania County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Transylvania County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 99% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 90% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of counties
Where Transylvania County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 21% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 26% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Transylvania County
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Transylvania County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,863, 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 Transylvania County's effective rate of 0.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Transylvania County
Transylvania 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 Transylvania County.
Who works in Transylvania County, and how
Work in Transylvania County centers on retail trade 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 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Transylvania County
Transylvania County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Transylvania County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Transylvania County growing, and who is moving in?
Transylvania County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Asheville, NC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Transylvania County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Transylvania County, month by month
Transylvania County sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 37° | 29° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Transylvania County
The nearest airport, Asheville Regional, is about 19 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 Transylvania County
Schools across Transylvania County average a B+, better than 86% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hendersonville ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Mills River ElementaryA · 62% proficient
- Brevard AcademyA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rugby MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Bethel MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Brevard MiddleA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Henderson County Early CollegeA+ · 93% proficient
- West Henderson HighA · 69% proficient
- Brevard HighA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Transylvania County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Transylvania 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 Transylvania County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Transylvania County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 74% of counties, health care access beats 98%, and it is quieter than 79%.
Common questions about living in Transylvania County
Is Transylvania County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Transylvania County ranks 691st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, health care access, and civic engagement, and lowest on an overheated housing market and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Transylvania County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $382,526. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $69,863 median income, cost of living beats 26% of counties.
Is Transylvania County safe?
Yes, Transylvania County is safer than 72% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $320 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Transylvania County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 29. That works out to about 120 pleasant days a year, more than 74% of counties.
Is Transylvania County good for families?
Schools beat 86% of counties, crime safety beats 72%, and childcare runs $749 a month.
Compare Transylvania County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Transylvania County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Transylvania 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.
Transylvania County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Transylvania County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Transylvania County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Transylvania County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Transylvania County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Transylvania 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.