Highlands, NC housing market
The typical Highlands home is worth about $1,063,000, up 7.5% in a year, 218% above the North Carolina typical home.
Home values, sales, trends and how Highlands compares with the towns next door — updated as new data is published.
Highlands at a glance
Typical home value, 2016–2026
Show as a table
| January | Highlands | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $460,000 | $179,000 |
| 2018 | $495,000 | $190,000 |
| 2019 | $528,000 | $203,000 |
| 2020 | $536,000 | $215,000 |
| 2021 | $626,000 | $242,000 |
| 2022 | $860,000 | $287,000 |
| 2023 | $916,000 | $320,000 |
| 2024 | $921,000 | $332,000 |
| 2025 | $959,000 | $338,000 |
| 2026 | $1,034,000 | $336,000 |
| August 2026 | $1,063,000 | $335,000 |
14.9 years of income
The typical Highlands home costs about 14.9 years of the town's median household income, more than across North Carolina (4.6 years).
Home value ÷ ACS median household income.
Owners, rent & taxes
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,230
HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Highlands is $1,230 a month, utilities included: roughly what a modest, recently rented unit costs. Renters already in Highlands pay a median of $650, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put. A two-bedroom takes about 21% of the town's median household income.
Studio $870 · 4 bedrooms $1,660
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FY2026 Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (28741; Jackson County, NC), weighted by land area. A Fair Market Rent is the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, August 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Listings link to their publishers.