IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Banner Elk, NC
Banner Elk is a small town of 1,473 people in Avery County, North Carolina. It's about 31 miles from Johnson City, TN and 88 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 76°F and winter highs 40°F, with about 39 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $458k and rent runs about $849 a month.
1,473people
$458kTypical home
$849/moRent
76° / 40°Summer / winter
39"Snow
224Sunny days
161Rain/snow days
Is Banner Elk right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 1,473
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 778 people per sq mi
- 88 mi to Charlotte, NC
- 31 mi to Johnson City, TN
- 12 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $458k (≈$2,889/mo)
- Median rent $849/mo
- Median household income $86k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 76°F
- Winter highs around 40°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 62°F)
- 224 sunny days a year (75 totally clear)
- 141 cloudy days a year
- 44 of 90 winter days are gray
- 161 days a year with rain or snow
- 39" of snow a year
- 16 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 14 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (192 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,480 per 100k)
People
- Median age 21
- 16% of households have kids
- 16% are 65 or older
- 46% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 42% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 16 min
- 7% walk or take transit to work
- 37 mi to TRI airport
- 83 mi to CLT (major hub)
- 83 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 59% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1997
- 94% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 3,832 ft
- 240 mi to the ocean
- 121 mi to a big lake
- 9 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 2 mi to the nearest ski area
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 19 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 186 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 3 bars within 25 mi
- 32 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 14 museums within 25 mi
- 6 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 11 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 43% of North Carolina districts (reading)
- 2 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 6 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 28 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 5 mi to the nearest vet
- 2 mi to the nearest dog park
- 16 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Avery County: R+52 in 2024
- North Carolina: R+3 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk