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Blowing Rock is a tiny town of 992 people in Watauga County, North Carolina. It's about 33 miles from Hickory, NC and 79 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 78°F and winter highs 40°F, with about 33 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $705k and rent runs about $1k a month.
992people
$705kTypical home
$1,278/moRent
78° / 40°Summer / winter
33"Snow
224Sunny days
146Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 992
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 306 people per sq mi
- 79 mi to Charlotte, NC
- 33 mi to Hickory, NC
- 6 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $705k (≈$4,446/mo)
- Median rent $1,278/mo
- Median household income $121k
- Property tax about 0.5% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 78°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
- 146 days a year with rain or snow
- 33" of snow a year
- 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 11 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (120 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,422 per 100k)
People
- Median age 60
- 13% of households have kids
- 31% are 65 or older
- 59% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 13% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 20 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 48 mi to TRI airport
- 75 mi to CLT (major hub)
- 83 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 64% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1985
- 93% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 3,662 ft
- 231 mi to the ocean
- 124 mi to a big lake
- 3 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 3 mi to the nearest ski area
- 4 mi to the nearest campground
- 21 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 185 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 3 bars within 25 mi
- 35 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 18 museums within 25 mi
- 7 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- Farmers market in town
Everyday
- Schools in the top 21% of North Carolina districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 6 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 26 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 5 mi to the nearest vet
- 7 mi to the nearest dog park
- 11 congregations per 10k people
- 5 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Watauga County: D+6 in 2024
- North Carolina: R+3 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk