A town of 683. Public schools that outperform most of North Carolina.
The 2 things Saluda does most differently from other towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Be the first to start the conversation.
Nothing on the calendar.
Ordered by what stands out in Saluda. Another town gets a different order.
People 65 and older are 52% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 8% of residents (23% statewide). 54% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across North Carolina.
| Saluda | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 2.9% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.4% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.8% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.2% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 6.1% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.7% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 28.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 23.6% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.9% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 8.8% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.4% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 21.9% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
The public schools Saluda’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 74% of North Carolina’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
| School | Grades | Students | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saluda Elementary School | PK–5 | 142 | A |
Saluda has mild winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 83°, a January night drops to 30°, and about 5 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
Most working residents leave Saluda for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Hendersonville (13%), Asheville (8%) and Charlotte (8%). Half commute less than 20 miles.
11 crimes were reported in Saluda in 2024: 9 property and 2 violent. In a town this small, a few incidents move the numbers a lot, so rates aren't shown.
Saluda is small, so we show counts rather than rates.
Saluda beats the North Carolina average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| What stands out | Saluda | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.7% | 15.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.4% | 12.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.8% | 7.9% |
The typical Saluda home is worth about $367,000, down 0.9% in a year, 10% above the North Carolina typical home.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities.
0.6 miles of trails across 1 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McCreery Park | — | 1 |
10 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 5 places on the National Register.
5 places in Saluda on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in North Carolina, United States
Saluda is a city in Polk and Henderson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 631 at the 2020 census. Saluda is famous for sitting at the top of the Norfolk Southern Railway's Saluda Grade, which was the steepest main line standard-gauge railway line in the United States until Norfolk Southern ceased operations on the line in 2001. Saluda is close to the South Carolina state line, between Asheville, North Carolina, and Spartanburg, South Carolina.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
