Compared to 5 other cities

Whether you’re a transplant or grew up here, you’ve probably been curious how Asheville’s cost of living compares to nearby cities.

We did some research (via The Council for Community and Economic Research, The Asheville Chamber, NerdWallet + Sperling’s) to see how Asheville stacks up – and here’s what we found.

Charlotte | 11% less expensive than Asheville

It’s pretty surprising that a city almost 10x larger in the same state (842,051 vs 89,121) is less expensive by a substantial amount.

Housing in Asheville is on average 26% more expensive than Charlotte’s. 😳

Charlotte’s median home price is $172,000, compared to Asheville’s median home price of $199,800. However, Asheville’s walk score is 35, and Charlotte’s is 24. So we got that goin’ for us. Plus… the mountains.

A salary of $50K in AVL = $44.5K in Charlotte.

Charleston | 5% more expensive

The coastal city has 15% more expensive housing costs + about 5% more expensive utilities. Everything else is pretty similar.

Charleston’s median home price is $255,600 (21% more expensive than Asheville).

However, Charleston’s median household income is $55,646 compared to Asheville’s of $43,334.

A salary of $50K in AVL = $52.5 in CHS.

Greenville | 13% less expensive

Greenville + Asheville are less than an hour away, but the cost of living is surely not the same.

Most of that difference is housing, as AVL is 23% more expensive. Everything is pretty comparable.

A salary of $50K in AVL = $43K salary in GVL.

Again, it’s so surprising a city which has a population of 684,419 is cheaper to live in than Asheville. But, Nashville (as it’s broken down in the census) is a metropolitan area, which includes suburbs.

Median home price in Nashville is $167,500, which is 16% less expensive than Asheville’s.

A salary of $50K in AVL = $45.5K in Nashville

Our NE neighbor is substantially cheaper than Asheville.

The median home price in Winston-Salem is $141,100 (30% less expensive than AVL). However, the median household income is $39,882, compared to Asheville’s of $43,334.

A salary of $50K in AVL = $38.5 in Nashville

Fort Collins, NYC, San Diego

I also check out how Asheville compares to my hometown of Fort Collins, CO. I guess Colorado really is a dream, as it’s 13% more expensive. A $50K salary in AVL = $57K salary in Foco.

Just for S&Gs I decided to compare the cost of living in a couple bigger cities, because when I was younger (and obvi didn’t know the worth of $1) my dream was to live in the Big Apple. But after seeing all these numbers, I’ve never been more appreciative to live in Asheville.

NYC | 64% more expensive// Housing costs are $4,088 for a 2BR apartment + $1.6M for a median-priced home. Living like they did on Gossip Girl is but a dream for me.

San Diego | 51% more expensive // Housing ($2,284 for a 2BR apartment + $789,427 for a median-priced home) is 331% higher than Cola. Guess that’s the price you pay for perfect weather year ‘round vs. 95º in mid-October.

While I was at it, I thought I’d check out how Asheville compares to my hometown of Fort Collins, CO. I guess Colorado really is a dream, as it’s 13% more expensive. A $50K salary in AVL = $57K salary in Foco.

It’s clearly no wonder why Asheville was recently ranked one of the top 100 places to live in America by livablity.com. 🙌