Is Sugar Mountain, NC a Good Place to Live?
Sugar Mountain is a small town of 489 in North Carolina, with a median household income of $111,250 and a 3.4% unemployment rate. Its cost of living index is 98 (US average = 100), which is 2% below the national average.
Strengths: Sugar Mountain stands out for a well-educated population, short average commutes.
Trade-offs: No major red flags stand out in the available data. Whether Sugar Mountain is right for you depends on your priorities — the full breakdown is below.
All Sugar Mountain city data on this page comes from official government sources — the US Census Bureau, FBI, NCES, BEA, and NOAA — updated annually.
Cost of Living
Index: 97.6Sugar Mountain's overall cost of living index is 97.6, where 100 represents the US national average. Living in Sugar Mountain costs roughly 2% less than the average American city.
| Metric | Sugar Mountain, NC | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Median Home Value | $261,800 | $244,900 |
| Median Monthly Rent | $1,337 | $1,163 |
| Homeownership Rate | 78.6% | 65.9% |
| Median Household Income | $111,250 | $74,755 |
Crime & Safety
Very SafeSugar Mountain's violent crime rate is 102.5 per 100,000 residents — 73% lower than the national average of ~380 per 100,000.
Vertical marker = national average. Source: FBI UCR Program.
Schools & Education
| Metric | Sugar Mountain, NC | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| School District | N/A | — |
| Elementary Schools | N/A | — |
| Middle Schools | N/A | — |
| High Schools | N/A | — |
| Student/Teacher Ratio | N/A | 16:1 |
| Bachelor's Degree or Higher | 56.3% | 35.4% |
| High School Diploma or Higher | 99.8% | 91.1% |
Weather & Climate
Sugar Mountain sees average highs of 40.3°F in January and 76.9°F in July, with 53.8 inches of annual precipitation and 31.4 inches of snow per year.
| Metric | Sugar Mountain, NC |
|---|---|
| Average High — January | 40.3°F |
| Average High — July | 76.9°F |
| Annual Precipitation | 53.8" |
| Annual Snowfall | 31.4" |
Demographics
| Metric | Sugar Mountain, NC | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 489 | — |
| Median Age | 61.2 | 38.9 |
| Unemployment Rate | 3.4% | 3.7% |
| Avg Commute Time | 18.0 min | 26 min |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 97.5% | 59.3% |
| Black or African American | 0.0% | 13.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 0.6% | 18.9% |
| Asian | 1.6% | 6.3% |
| Under 18 | 7.4% | 22.2% |
| 65 and over | 40.3% | 16.8% |