279,210 people (2024 Census estimate, +3.5% since 2020)
656 square miles of land · 425 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
32 active community water systems list Buncombe County in the area they serve, reporting 194,940 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ASHEVILLE CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0111010 | 157,431 served |
| BLACK MOUNTAIN, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0111020 | 11,976 served |
| WOODFIN SANITARY WATER AND SEWER surface water · local government · NC0111015 | 10,122 served |
| WEAVERVILLE, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0111025 | 8,359 served |
| BILTMORE FOREST, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0111030 | 1,356 served |
| ROYAL GORGE WATER UTILITY groundwater · private · NC0111118 | 950 served |
| BENT CREEK WATER SYSTEM groundwater · private · NC0111102 | 800 served |
| MONTREAT WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · NC0111484 | 798 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 399 people were held in Buncombe County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 226 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 480.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
2 school districts have their office in Buncombe County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $343.1 million — $300.1 million to run schools, about $13,586 per student, plus $34 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $116 million local (mostly property tax), $174.2 million state, $52.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $192.2 million.
Spent $73.6 million — $68.3 million to run schools, about $16,508 per student, plus $4.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $36.1 million local (mostly property tax), $32 million state, $7.1 million federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Buncombe County about $82.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
553 bridges in Buncombe County: 166 in good condition, 330 fair, and 57 poor (10.3%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US19 23 over I-240 OFF RAMPS · built 1968 | 48,000 vehicles a day |
| I-240 EBL over ACCESS RD. HOMINY CREEK · built 1967 | 30,000 vehicles a day |
| I-240 WBL over ACCESS RD. HOMINY CREEK · built 1967 | 30,000 vehicles a day |
| I26W US19 23N 70W over NC251 SR1781 REEDS CREEK · built 1970 | 29,250 vehicles a day |
| US19 23 NBL over REEMS CREEK · built 1963 | 21,000 vehicles a day |
| US19 23SBL over REEMS CREEK · built 1963 | 21,000 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $363.2 million of work in Buncombe County in fiscal 2025, about $1,348 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-09. Early voting: 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-31. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-20. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: NC State Board of Elections: upcoming election · NC State Board of Elections: vote in person · NC State Board of Elections: voter ID
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Buncombe County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Buncombe County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Henderson County (19 mi) · Madison County (20 mi) · Yancey County (23 mi) · Haywood County (26 mi) · McDowell County (28 mi) · Polk County (31 mi).