Living in Asheboro, North Carolina: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.1% below the U.S. average in the Greensboro-High Point metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood58 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 21.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town13 public schools: 6 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools and 1 other.
A hospital close byRandolph Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityRaleigh is about 66 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Asheboro meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $188,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 23%Randolph County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $906 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $47,197U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 45%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,829 a yearNorth Carolina: $1,896
Homes built before 1940: 5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 92.9U.S. average = 100 (the Greensboro-High Point metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Greensboro-High Point metro area, not Asheboro alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 27,9902020: 27,251
Median age: 37.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Manufacturing (23%); schools, health care and social services (19%); retail (9%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 20%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Randolph Hospital, Asheboro, NC, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

13 public schools in Asheboro, run by Asheboro City Schools and Randolph County School System.

Colleges in or next to town: Randolph Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on North Carolina's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 85%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 29°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 32 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 65 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.5 inches a year
Snow: 5 inches a year
Elevation: 854 feet

Weather stations: Asheboro 2 W (2 miles away) and Randleman (8 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

High Point, NCCity of 121,00023

Raleigh, NCMetro of 1.6 million66

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: High Point, Raleigh.

Randolph County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Asheboro Downtown Historic District and Wilson Kindley Farm and Kindley Mine.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park29 miles

Read about Asheboro's history on Wikipedia.

Know Asheboro?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Franklinville, NC1,300 people, 7 miles
Randleman, NC4,800 people, 8 miles
Ramseur, NC1,800 people, 9 miles
Archdale, NC12,300 people, 16 miles
Trinity, NC7,300 people, 17 miles
Liberty, NC2,700 people, 17 miles

Smaller places

Seagrove, NC248 people, 11 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.