IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Sugar Mountain, NC
Sugar Mountain is a tiny town of 539 people in Avery County, North Carolina. It's about 32 miles from Johnson City, TN and 86 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 74°F and winter highs 38°F, with about 41 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $344k and rent runs about $2k a month.
539people
$344kTypical home
$1,500/moRent
74° / 38°Summer / winter
41"Snow
224Sunny days
159Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 539
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 219 people per sq mi
- 86 mi to Charlotte, NC
- 32 mi to Johnson City, TN
- 13 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $344k (≈$2,168/mo)
- Median rent $1,500/mo
- Median household income $96k
- Property tax about 0.6% of value
- 7.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 74°F
- Winter highs around 38°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
- 159 days a year with rain or snow
- 41" of snow a year
- 17 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 15 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (258 per 100k), county-wide
- Above-average property crime (2,219 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 67
- 16% of households have kids
- 39% are 65 or older
- 46% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 39 mi to TRI airport
- 82 mi to CLT (major hub)
- 81 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 47% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1985
- 89% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 4,607 ft
- 238 mi to the ocean
- 119 mi to a big lake
- 9 mi to the nearest trailhead
- Ski area in town
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 18 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
- 10 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 43% of North Carolina districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 26 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 4 mi to the nearest vet
- 4 mi to the nearest dog park
- 16 congregations per 10k people
- 2 mi to the nearest college
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