County profile
Buncombe County, NC
United States · GDP 2024
#244 of 3,127 US counties by GDP65th-percentile growthmore diversified than 78% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$21.3B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+5.7%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
127,409
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
9,863
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$56.0k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
277,417
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.2%
Median HH income
$74.4k±$2.2k
Bachelor's degree+
45.9%±1.4%
Poverty rate
11.8%±0.9%
Business applications
4,583 · 2025
Retail establishments
1,320
47.3/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Ingles Markets, IncorporatedConsumer Defensive$5.3B61C2HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc.Financial Services$10.4M53DHQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Health care29%
Food & accommodation22%
Retail trade21%
Manufacturing14%
Construction7%
Admin & support7%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
277,417
residents · 2025 · +2.9% since 2020
Income per capita $70.6k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+6,760
International migration+4,057
Natural change−3,131
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$15.6B2019
$14.8B2020
$16.6B2021
$18.3B2022
$20.1B2023
$21.3B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$391.8k±$8.3k
Median gross rent
$1.4k/mo±$42/mo
Vacancy rate
24.3%±1.5%
Affordability
7.0× wages
Residential permits
$687.4M
2,028 units · 7.3/1k pop
FEMA risk score
89.3
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.8k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Landslide 99Cold wave 97Lightning 97
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
6752016
7252017
7762018
8092019
8332020
9422021
11352022
12382023
12652024
12802025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -27% since 20212,7932021
2,0122022
2,5942023
3,6132024
2,0282025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
1.5 km
I-240
Nearest freight rail
4.0 km
NS
Nearest port
124.0 km
BURKHART ENTERPRISES, KNOXVILLE DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
19.6 km
ASHEVILLE RGNL
Filing activity
SEC EDGAR5 filings from 1 company here in the last 90 days.
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$56.0k
avg. annual pay · +25% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Buncombe?
Buncombe's economy produced $21.3B in 2024, growing 5.7% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.