A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Wingate$1,860/mo

Typical home $322K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.63% · or rent about $1,123/mo · Housing →

Mars Hill$2,360/mo

Typical home $414K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.56% · or rent about $1,043/mo · Housing →

The difference: $510 a month, about $6,100 a year, between Mars Hill and Wingate.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Mars Hill places higher on 11 of 19 NC lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every North Carolina ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

A−WingateBetter than 81% of districts in the state B+Mars HillBetter than 70% of districts in the state

Health

B+WingateHealthier than 66% of U.S. towns AMars HillHealthier than 87% of U.S. towns

8Wingate

11Mars Hill

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 297 towns #40#267 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 296 towns #210#62 Most conserved landOutdoors · 276 towns #150#269 Most activeHealth · 296 towns #134#30 Best schoolsSchools · 252 towns #209#121 Shortest commuteGetting around · 297 towns #124#213 HealthiestHealth · 296 towns #126#45 Fastest growingGrowth · 291 towns #90#154

Left end = #1 in North Carolina. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Wingate’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

WingateMars Hill

Snow a year2″26″

January low30°F 24°F

July high91°F 85°F

Growing season (days)213d 173d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)39th 60th

Outdoors & history

WingateMars Hill

Trails1 mi —

Conserved land3%—

National Register places—4

Archive photos4 24

Famous people born here—3

Community

WingateMars Hill

Library hours a week—50 hrs

Colleges in town1 1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

132 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WingateNC Mars HillNC

Wingate ↔ Mars Hill132 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs North Carolina average

WingateMars Hill

People

Population 4,425Highest 3,025Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +16.2%Highest NC: +9.5% +7.4%Lowest NC: +9.5%

Median age 21.8±0.9Lowest 44% below NC 27.6±5.5Highest 29% below NC

Mars Hill and Wingate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 17.2%±4.6Lowest NC: 21.8% 21.1%±4.7Highest NC: 21.8%

Mars Hill and Wingate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 7.6%±3.9Lowest NC: 17.2% 14%±2.7Highest NC: 17.2%

Mars Hill and Wingate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 37.9%Lowest NC: 35.7% 48.1%Highest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 46.1%±5Highest NC: 6.4% 24.1%±4.9Lowest NC: 6.4%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $63,068±$22kLowest 13% below NC $81,429±$9kHighest 12% above NC

Mars Hill and Wingate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $229,800±$15kLowest 20% below NC $294,700±$37kHighest about the NC average

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,123±$184Highest 9% below NC $1,043±$172Lowest 15% below NC

Wingate and Mars Hill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,438Lowest 24% below NC $1,649Highest 13% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 74.9%±10.8Highest NC: 48.9% 41.3%±14.8Lowest NC: 48.9%

Below poverty line 17%Highest NC: 13% 3.3%Lowest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 60.9%Lowest NC: 66.6% 64.6%Highest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1987Highest 4 yrs older than NC 1982Lowest 9 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 23 minLowest 7% below NC 27 minHighest 7% above NC

Work from home 14%±5.9Lowest NC: 16.3% 15.5%±7.5Highest NC: 16.3%

Mars Hill and Wingate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 3.4%Lowest 4.8%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 23.3 miHighest 17.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.76Lowest 0.93Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Monroe (23%)Asheville (28%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Mars HillFew work in Wingate

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3%Highest 0.2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.8 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 43.4Highest 42.1Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #209 of 252 in NC #121 of 252 in NC

School district Union County Public SchoolsMadison County Schools

High school in town None in townNone in town

North Carolina average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Wingate neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wingate’s Town Square.

Mars Hill neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mars Hill’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Wingate

+ Compare

Murfreesboro3,170 people · $159K homes

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Boiling Springs4,757 people · $265K homes

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Richlands2,335 people · $249K homes

+ Compare

Youngsville3,011 people · $434K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Wingate vs Mars Hill

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $510 more a month in Mars Hill

Mars Hill places higher on 11 of 19 NC lists

What daily life feels like in each

132 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Wingate and Mars Hill

Towns like Wingate

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