Counties / North Carolina / Henderson County

Henderson County, NC

FIPS 37089 · population 118,484 · part of Asheville, NC

$433k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$433k
▼ 2.1% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
Median asking rent
$1,884
▲ 5.7% year over year
Zillow ZORI · direct
Gross yield
5.2%
annual rent ÷ price, before costs
derived: rent × 12 ÷ price ✓
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,835
market rent is 1.03x the standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+57.5%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06−2.1%FHFA HPI2025−0.0%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$351k
Surveyed gross rent$1,187
Rent burden 30%+47.7%
Median year built1990
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
12.0%vacant
58,044estimated housing units
Occupied tenure25.0% renter
owner 75.0%renter 25.0%
Structure mix73.7% single-family
Single-family 73.7%20+ units 2.6%Mobile home 15.2%Other 8.5%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs43,838▼ 0.8% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments4,254annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,087▲ 4.4% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities24.2% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−0.8%WEEKLY WAGE+4.4%Trade, transportation, and utilities24.2%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Henderson County presents an income-versus-price-stability tension: investors able to verify property-level flood exposure and operating costs should investigate, while appreciation-led buyers should be cautious. Zillow’s county median home value was $432,529 in 2026-06, down 2.07% year over year. FHFA’s annual 2025 repeat-transaction HPI was essentially flat to slightly down, supporting the softer direction but not supplying a home value. Its different vintage and repeat-sales method cannot be averaged with Zillow.

02Housing economics

At that Zillow observation, measured median asking market rent was $1,884 per month, up 5.65%, and the reported gross yield was 5.23% before costs. The effective property-tax rate was 0.52%, with median annual tax of $1,810; those carrying costs need parcel-level confirmation. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR was $1,835 per month, but it is a payment standard rather than an asking-rent estimate and cannot replace the published market-rent figure or yield input.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s MLS listing-market evidence shows increased visible active supply, falling asking-price direction, and seller price reductions; its shorter median marketing time makes the signal mixed. These are active-listing and seller-concession measures, not closed-sale pricing or proof of buyer demand. Tax-return migration was net positive and average income was higher for in-movers than out-movers, a favorable composition signal that does not establish renter absorption. Investor purchases were 72 of 1,399 total purchases, or 5.15%, so non-occupant competition was a minority of recorded purchases.

04Risk & next checks

Modeled expected annual building-value loss is 0.10%, with inland flood the dominant hazard; this county-level model does not identify a parcel’s flood depth, coverage, deductible, or insurance cost. QCEW workplace covered employment fell 0.83% while average weekly covered-worker pay rose 4.42%; these are neither resident jobs nor unemployment data. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Missing unit-level rent and vacancy comparables, closed-sale comps, property-specific tax assessments, and insurance and flood documentation prevent a defensible all-in cash-flow, exit-price, or tenant-demand conclusion.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Henderson County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Hendersonville city15.4KFletcher town8.1KEtowah CDP8KMills River town7.3KEast Flat Rock CDP6.3KDana CDP4.1KFlat Rock village3.5KMountain Home CDP3.4K
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

18 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Hendersonville cityIncorporated place
    15,408
  2. 02
    Fletcher townIncorporated place
    8,098
  3. 03
    Etowah CDPCensus-designated place
    7,968
  4. 04
    Mills River townIncorporated place
    7,281
  5. 05
    East Flat Rock CDPCensus-designated place
    6,323
  6. 06
    Dana CDPCensus-designated place
    4,147
  7. 07
    Flat Rock villageIncorporated place
    3,530
  8. 08
    Mountain Home CDPCensus-designated place
    3,437
  9. 09
    Edneyville CDPCensus-designated place
    2,716
  10. 10
    Valley Hill CDPCensus-designated place
    2,675
  11. 11
    Laurel Park townIncorporated place
    2,408
  12. 12
    Fruitland CDPCensus-designated place
    2,398
Show 6 more places
  1. 13
    Hoopers Creek CDPCensus-designated place
    1,683
  2. 14
    Horse Shoe CDPCensus-designated place
    1,490
  3. 15
    Balfour CDPCensus-designated place
    1,134
  4. 16
    Barker Heights CDPCensus-designated place
    1,074
  5. 17
    Saluda cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    683
  6. 18
    Gerton CDPCensus-designated place
    110

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.102% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.52%

$1,810 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+586

3,896 in · 3,310 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$14,966

$83,685 arriving · $68,719 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors5.1%

72 of 1,399 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings772▲ 8.7% year over year
Median days on market59▼ 1.7% year over year
Listings price-reduced22.7%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 1.7% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

Same metro

The other counties in Asheville, NC

A metro is an average of these. Which side of a county line a property sits on can change the tax bill, the hazard profile and the tenant pool.

CountyPopulationPriceRentYieldHazard
Henderson County118,484$433k$1,8845.2%inland flooding
Buncombe County274,360$458k$1,6784.4%inland flooding
Madison County21,867$394kn/an/ainland flooding
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Flood exposure, insurance terms, and deductible requirements can differ sharply by parcel from the county model.
  2. Published gross yield excludes vacancy, maintenance, insurance, financing, and other operating costs.
  3. County-level migration and workplace employment data may not translate into tenant demand for a specific submarket or property type.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

What is the distinction between published market rent and HUD FMR?

The published median asking market rent was $1,884 per month in 2026-06. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR was $1,835 per month and is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent.

How large was recorded investor participation in purchases?

Investor purchases were 72 of 1,399 total purchases, equal to a 5.15% investor share.

What did QCEW report about the county labor base?

QCEW reported 43,838 annual average covered jobs in 2025, down 0.83% year over year; average weekly covered-worker pay was $1,087, up 4.42%.