Moving to Emma
Buncombe County gains about 5.8 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.
Where people come from and where they go, top counties
Within North Carolina, other states or abroad
Income per tax return
People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Buncombe County; flows under 20 returns are not published.
- Who moves here
- 6.9% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.0% from another state. County figure.
- Who arrives and who leaves
- Households moving into Buncombe County report $85,900 a year in income on average; those leaving, $68,900, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
- Income you would need
- $42,600 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
- Rent or buy
- Median rent is $1,064 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $967 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $92,300.
- Getting to work
- 20 minutes each way on average; 17.6% work from home.
- If it is close but not quite
- Brattleboro, VT matches it on character. Compare the two
All 5 moving measures
| Measure | Emma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moved here in the past year1County figure | 6.9% | 20% above | |
| Moved from another state1 | 0.0% | below (median 2.0%) | |
| Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure | 5.8 | above (median -0.6) | |
| Income of households moving in7County figure | $85,869 | 22% above | |
| Income of households moving out7County figure | $68,891 | 2% below |
What it costs to live here
Property tax paid (median) is $518, 84% below the median place.
Could you afford it?
Uses the median rent in Emma, $1,064 a month, and local prices for everything else (97.2 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Like Emma, but easier on the budget
Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.
Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Emma.
All 16 cost and housing measures
| Measure | Emma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent1 | $1,064 | 22% below | |
| Rent to income1 | 29.1% | 43% above | |
| Property tax rate1 | 0.6% | 38% below | |
| Home price to income1 | 2.1x | 45% below | |
| Prices vs US average2Metro figure | 96.5 | 4% below | |
| Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure | $1,866 | 16% above | |
| HUD area median income4County figure | $103,200 | 4% below | |
| Property tax paid (median)1 | $518 | 84% below | |
| Median home value1 | $92,300 | 71% below | |
| Home prices, 1-year change5County figure | 1.2% | 63% below | |
| Home prices, 5-year change5County figure | 53.8% | 4% above | |
| Homeownership1 | 71.8% | 8% above | |
| Renters paying 30%+1County figure | 53.9% | 7% above | |
| Owner costs with a mortgage1 | $967 | 48% below | |
| Vacant homes1 | 32.2% | 356% above | |
| Median year built1 | 1991 | 1% above |
Work and pay
Unemployment is 0.0%, below the median place (median 4.9%).
All 10 work and pay measures
| Measure | Emma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income1 | $43,907 | 45% below | |
| Income per person1 | $18,704 | 53% below | |
| Unemployment1 | 0.0% | below (median 4.9%) | |
| Average annual pay6County figure | $61,596 | 7% below | |
| Pay growth, 1 year6County figure | 4.8% | 30% above | |
| Jobs6County figure | 134,686 | 11% below | |
| Poverty rate1County figure | 11.8% | 10% above | |
| Mean commute1 | 20 min | 20% below | |
| Works from home1County figure | 17.6% | 41% above | |
| Commutes by transit1County figure | 0.7% | 21% below |
Who lives here
No health insurance is 35.6%, above the median place (median 6.4%).
All 8 people measures
| Measure | Emma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population1 | 2,657 | 6646th largest | |
| Median age1County figure | 42.6 | 9% above | |
| Bachelor's or higher1County figure | 45.9% | 43% above | |
| High school or higher1 | 75.1% | 19% below | |
| Household size1 | 3.5 | 42% above | |
| Born abroad1 | 19.0% | 116% above | |
| No health insurance1 | 35.6% | above (median 6.4%) | |
| Homes with broadband1 | 75.4% | 18% below |
Life in Emma
128 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.
Out the door, against the typical place
Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)
Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.
All 16 schools and local life measures
| Measure | Emma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public schools11County figure | 60 | above (median 9) | |
| Public school students11County figure | 29,691 | above (median 4,897) | |
| Students per teacher11County figure | 14.9 | 3% below | |
| Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure | 31.6 | 52% above | |
| Shops per 10k8County figure | 48.1 | 59% above | |
| Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure | 7.9 | 93% above | |
| Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure | 36.8 | 82% above | |
| Child care centers per 10k8County figure | 1.7 | 26% below | |
| Parks per 10k9 | 3.8 | 63% below | |
| Playgrounds per 10k9 | 7.5 | 20% below | |
| Grocery stores per 10k9 | 0.0 | below (median 2.1) | |
| Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k9 | 0.0 | below (median 11.2) | |
| Libraries per 10k9 | 0.0 | below (median 0.9) | |
| Named paths and bike trails9 | 0.0 | below (median 2.0) | |
| Transit stops per sq mi9 | 0.0 | below (median 0.2) | |
| National Register listings10County figure | 128 | above (median 13) |
Safety, weather and risk
Heat wave risk is 2.2, 98% below the median place.
No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Emma. Larger places are fetched first.
All 11 weather and risk measures
| Measure | Emma | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| July average high12County figure | 82°F | 6% below | |
| January average low12County figure | 26°F | 3% above | |
| Average temperature12County figure | 54°F | 1% below | |
| Annual precipitation12County figure | 50.3 in | 15% above | |
| Natural hazard risk13County figure | 89.3 | 3% below | |
| Hurricane risk13County figure | 68.6 | 3% below | |
| Tornado risk13County figure | 81.3 | 0% below | |
| Wildfire risk13County figure | 80.6 | 32% above | |
| Heat wave risk13County figure | 2.2 | 98% below | |
| Median air quality index14County figure | 40 | 7% below | |
| Good air days14County figure | 73.4% | 7% above |
How it is changing
Five-year survey estimates, one point per release.
Median gross rent
Median household income
Median home value
Citytistics measures
Measures only Citytistics publishes, built from the figures on this page. Scores of 100 beat every place we track. Formulas
Emma in 2030: where the trends point
If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 30% of the median income in 2030, up from 29% now.
Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.
| Measure | Latest | 2030 projection | Likely range | Avg. per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,064/mo (2024) | $1,360/mo | $1,120 to $1,660/mo | +4.2% |
| Median household income | $43,907 (2024) | $55,000 | $46,500 to $65,000 | +3.8% |
| Median home value | $92,300 (2024) | $124,000 | $90,000 to $170,000 | +5.0% |
The median home would be worth 2.3 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.1 now.
A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.
Places like Emma
The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.
| Place | Rent | Income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brattleboro, VT | $1,113 | $52,734 | Compare |
| Wilkinsburg, PA | $1,025 | $46,416 | Compare |
| Fairfield, IA | $870 | $51,311 | Compare |
| Charleston, WV | $908 | $65,812 | Compare |
Nearby
- Woodfin, NC3 mi
- Asheville, NC3 mi
- Swannanoa, NC12 mi
- Fletcher, NC13 mi
- Black Mountain, NC15 mi
- Mills River, NC15 mi
Compare Emma with
Common questions
Is Emma a good place to live?
It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. After the median rent, and with prices for everything else adjusted to the US average, the median household has about $32,100 a year left, less than in 96% of the 1,875 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 2nd-lowest of 126 North Carolina places. Unemployment averaged 0.0% over the survey period, lower than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 112 North Carolina places. See how it ranks with your own weights.
Is Emma expensive to live in?
The median rent takes 29.1% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $92,300.
What salary do you need to live in Emma?
To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $42,560 a year. Work it out from your current city.
What places are similar to Emma?
On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Brattleboro, VT, Wilkinsburg, PA, Fairfield, IA and Charleston, WV.
Sources and methods
The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.
- American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
- Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
- Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
- House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
- SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
- County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
- OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
- National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
- Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
- 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
- National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
- Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files
Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).
What stands out compares Emma with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Emma itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/emma-north-carolina
Citytistics. “Emma, North Carolina.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/emma-north-carolina/
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.