Mountain townsNorth Carolina2026

North Carolina Mountain Towns

The mountain towns of Western North Carolina

Asheville, Bryson City and Boone were the most booked of the 42 mountain towns in North Carolina, all in Western North Carolina, on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 61,139, 29,803 and 17,643 stays. October is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 4.4 nights.

Source: AirROI Reviewed by Jun Zhou, Founder @ AirROI Updated November 4, 2026

Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made

Among the 25 towns with 200+ homes

Most booked of these 25: Asheville 61,139 stays
Highest revenue per home of these 25: Highlands $52,857 a year
Highest rated of these 25: Highlands 4.92 out of 5
Lowest nightly rate of these 25: Murphy $214 a night
Longest typical stay of these 25: Asheville 5.3 nights

Ranking

North Carolina Mountain Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays

Every one of the mountain towns and villages in North Carolina with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.

North Carolina Mountain Towns ranked by Airbnb stays, with homes, typical stay, busiest month, nightly rate, occupancy, revenue per home and guest rating

1	Asheville	61,139	1,836	5.3 nights	October	$270	45%	$38,341	4.90
2	Bryson City	29,803	984	3.5 nights	October	$278	39%	$33,143	4.84
3	Boone	17,643	608	3.6 nights	July	$360	38%	$36,886	4.85
4	Beech Mountain	17,431	822	3.8 nights	January	$356	32%	$31,453	4.80
5	Maggie Valley	15,836	588	4.2 nights	October	$273	39%	$32,493	4.88
6	Black Mountain	15,178	518	4.4 nights	October	$318	41%	$39,209	4.90
7	Hendersonville	14,566	569	4.9 nights	October	$249	40%	$28,390	4.89
8	Banner Elk	13,906	599	4.1 nights	July	$433	34%	$38,910	4.83
9	Blowing Rock	13,781	500	3.9 nights	July	$391	36%	$41,627	4.85
10	Waynesville	11,456	504	4.7 nights	October	$256	37%	$28,263	4.88
11	Lake Lure	10,865	512	4.3 nights	July	$347	32%	$30,817	4.82
12	Brevard	10,766	381	4.8 nights	October	$265	43%	$33,446	4.91
13	Highlands	9,456	358	4.4 nights	August	$460	39%	$52,857	4.92
14	Sugar Mountain	9,247	494	3.8 nights	January	$273	31%	$20,827	4.73
15	Murphy	8,840	409	5.1 nights	October	$214	37%	$21,521	4.89
16	Franklin	8,532	373	4.7 nights	October	$220	38%	$23,623	4.88
17	Whittier	8,383	274	3.7 nights	October	$260	39%	$32,931	4.85
18	Fairview	7,457	226	4.2 nights	October	$369	42%	$51,297	4.90
19	Sylva	6,861	232	4.3 nights	October	$225	44%	$28,348	4.85
20	Mars Hill	6,070	244	4.7 nights	October	$341	37%	$34,979	4.89
21	Robbinsville	6,070	243	4.0 nights	October	$217	37%	$24,104	4.90
22	West Jefferson	5,673	210	3.9 nights	July	$275	35%	$29,534	4.89
23	Swannanoa	5,622	167	4.6 nights	October	$265	45%	$39,993	4.90
24	Burnsville	5,443	247	4.5 nights	October	$254	35%	$25,496	4.88
25	Newland	5,377	212	4.3 nights	July	$236	37%	$25,428	4.87
26	Hot Springs	4,719	145	3.8 nights	October	$214	39%	$26,630	4.91
27	Marshall	4,377	156	4.4 nights	October	$277	40%	$31,085	4.90
28	Seven Devils	4,080	152	3.7 nights	July	$380	35%	$37,986	4.81
29	Leicester	4,004	134	4.9 nights	October	$323	44%	$46,242	4.92
30	Canton	3,776	132	4.1 nights	October	$284	41%	$34,798	4.90
31	Marion	3,541	145	4.1 nights	October	$250	34%	$26,014	4.89
32	Pisgah Forest	3,217	118	4.3 nights	July	$263	43%	$33,257	4.92
33	Topton	3,075	136	4.9 nights	July	$311	37%	$34,893	4.87
34	Sapphire	2,954	213	4.9 nights	July	$363	29%	$30,481	4.84
35	Saluda	2,896	122	4.2 nights	July	$239	35%	$23,096	4.90
36	Cullowhee	2,693	132	4.4 nights	July	$313	35%	$27,751	4.89
37	Old Fort	2,679	103	3.8 nights	October	$286	37%	$30,813	4.92
38	Vilas	2,672	118	4.0 nights	October	$354	33%	$29,753	4.83
39	Hayesville	2,586	151	5.2 nights	July	$253	34%	$22,279	4.85
40	Cashiers	2,449	118	4.2 nights	July	$439	35%	$44,318	4.89
41	Tryon	2,149	111	4.6 nights	October	$222	35%	$20,166	4.92
42	Lake Junaluska	1,907	110	5.2 nights	July	$243	35%	$18,595	4.68

Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5.

Town by town

Where the Top Towns Stand Out

5 of 8 are busiest in October. Boone and Banner Elk peak in July, and Beech Mountain in January. Among guests who left a review, Charlotte is the top home city in 7 of the 8. Houses are the largest home type in 6 of the 8. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the 8 most booked towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.

Asheville
Of the 25 mountain towns in North Carolina with 200 or more homes, Asheville had the most Airbnb homes, at 1,836, and had the longest typical stay, at 5.3 nights, in the 12 months to October 2026.
Bryson City
In the 12 months to October 2026, cabins, campers and other outdoor stays were the largest home type in Bryson City, North Carolina, at 62% of homes.
5
Maggie Valley
In the 12 months to October 2026, cabins, campers and other outdoor stays were the largest home type in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, at 56% of homes.

When to go

Busiest and Quietest Months

October, July and June rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the mountain towns in North Carolina, and January and February as the quietest. October is the busiest month in 24 of the 42, while Boone and Banner Elk peak in July, and Beech Mountain in January. Across the 42 towns, nightly rates run lowest in April, at about $273, and highest in December, at about $305. Across the 42 towns, stays run longest in July, at 5.2 nights, and shortest in February and September, at 3.4 nights.

October ranks first, February last

Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.

Three busiest months
Other months

Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate

Months in North Carolina by rank
Rank	Month	Typical stay	Nightly rate
1	October	3.5 nights	$296
2	July	5.2 nights	$302
3	June	4.6 nights	$291
4	August	4.5 nights	$284
5	December	4.2 nights	$305
6	September	3.4 nights	$277
7	November	3.7 nights	$291
8	May	3.9 nights	$279
9	March	3.9 nights	$274
10	April	3.8 nights	$273
11	January	3.8 nights	$294
12	February	3.4 nights	$286

Who comes

Where Guests Come From

Among guests who left a review, 98.1% come from within the United States. The top home cities among those guests are Charlotte, Raleigh and Atlanta. Burnsville draws the most from abroad, at 3%, among towns with 200 or more homes.

Top home cities

Among guests who left a review

98.1% from within the United States

Charlotte 5.4%
Raleigh 3.4%
Atlanta 2.4%
Durham 1.1%

The money view

Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate

Among the 25 towns with 200 or more Airbnb homes, Highlands has the highest estimated revenue per home, at $52,857 a year. Of those 25, Asheville has the highest occupancy, at 45%, and Murphy has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at $214. The most booked of the 42, Asheville, earns about $38,341 per home.

Highest revenue per home of these 25

A year, AirROI estimate

Highlands $52,857
Fairview $51,297
Blowing Rock $41,627
Black Mountain $39,209
Banner Elk $38,910

Highest occupancy of these 25

Nights booked, AirROI estimate

Lowest nightly rate of these 25

On Airbnb, AirROI estimate

Murphy $214
Robbinsville $217
Franklin $220
Sylva $225
Newland $236

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular mountain town in North Carolina?

By AirROI's estimates, Asheville is the most booked of the 42 mountain towns in North Carolina, with 61,139 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Bryson City is second, with 29,803. This counts Airbnb bookings only.

What are the mountain towns in Western North Carolina?

In AirROI's data for the 12 months to October 2026, all 42 mountain towns it lists in North Carolina are in Western North Carolina. Of the 42 mountain towns in North Carolina, the most booked by AirROI's estimated stays are Asheville, Bryson City and Boone.

What is the most affordable mountain town in North Carolina?

By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among mountain towns in North Carolina with 200 or more homes, the lowest are Murphy ($214), Robbinsville ($217) and Franklin ($220). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.

What are some small mountain towns in North Carolina?

By AirROI's count of active Airbnb homes as of October 2026, the smallest of the 42 mountain towns it lists in North Carolina are Old Fort (103), Lake Junaluska (110) and Tryon (111). AirROI's list starts at 100 homes, so smaller places are not on it.

What mountain towns in North Carolina offer the strongest Airbnb returns?

Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among mountain towns in North Carolina with 200 or more homes, the highest are Highlands ($52,857), Fairview ($51,297) and Blowing Rock ($41,627). Among the same towns, Asheville has the highest occupancy, at 45%.

Method

How These Lists and Numbers Are Made

How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to sit in a mountain range or right at its foot, with the mountains the reason it is known and why people go. The town's own listings can back that up, with 15% of its listing titles naming the mountains. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.

How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 1,178,100 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.