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Highlands is a small town of 1,074 people in Macon County, North Carolina. It's about 50 miles from Greenville, SC and 113 miles from Atlanta, GA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 78°F and winter highs 42°F, with about 10 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $701k and rent runs about $727 a month.
1,074people
$701kTypical home
$727/moRent
78° / 42°Summer / winter
10"Snow
237Sunny days
163Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,074
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 172 people per sq mi
- 113 mi to Atlanta, GA
- 50 mi to Greenville, SC
- 32 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $701k (≈$4,420/mo)
- Median rent $727/mo
- Median household income $72k
- Property tax about 0.4% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 78°F
- Winter highs around 42°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 237 sunny days a year (87 totally clear)
- 128 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 163 days a year with rain or snow
- 10" of snow a year
- 3 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 7 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (204 per 100k), county-wide
- Above-average property crime (2,427 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 63
- 14% of households have kids
- 41% are 65 or older
- 48% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 6% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 17 min
- 18% walk or take transit to work
- 45 mi to AVL airport
- 69 mi to TYS (major hub)
- 33 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 77% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1981
- 89% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 3,832 ft
- 220 mi to the ocean
- 31 mi to a big lake
- 4 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 9 mi to the nearest ski area
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 40 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 132 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 9 bars within 25 mi
- 13 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 15 museums within 25 mi
- 7 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 15 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 49% of North Carolina districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 26 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 21 mi to the nearest vet
- Dog park in town
- 13 congregations per 10k people
- 18 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Macon County: R+38 in 2024
- North Carolina: R+3 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Moderate drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.