Mountain adventure of the most diverse kind awaits your visit to Asheville, whether you re planning a tour of restaurants and culinary delights or coming to try out the area s top-rated outdoor sports activities . The Blue Ridge Parkway , a thriving arts community and Biltmore Estate top the list of Asheville s best-known delights. Downtown, with its funky charm and secrets to be discovered, awaits, as do day trips to surrounding towns and attractions. Or, plan a trip of cultural discovery to explore the homes of our nation s great writers and take in the history of mountain music. Whatever the season or the reason for your visit, Asheville is sure to have something special to offer. Visit Asheville Chamber Of Commerce for local and regional data and demographics. Visit Buncombe County Schools for education info. Visit City Of Asheville for city info. Visit Go Asheville for just about anything! About Asheville Situated in the gorgeous French Broad River valley amid the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky mountains, Asheville s natural beauty sets the tone for a place you will remember with your heart. Selected by AARP magazine as a top 15 dream town, one of the best places to reinvent your life, it offers a little bit of something for everyone. Gargoyles keep watch over an Art Deco skyline in a bustling downtown filled with high-tech and retail businesses. The great outdoors here are so spectacular that they netted Asheville the ranking of number 1 of 10 Great Adventure Towns by National Geographic Adventure magazine.  Asheville s size makes it the largest city in Western North Carolina, but surrounding towns in Buncombe County offer small town flair and varied amenities. Asheville Regional Airport serves the region for air travel, and a professional hockey team and a minor league baseball team mean that sports fun isn t hard to find. Asheville holds the distinction of having both low unemployment and strong job growth. Fueling the area's sound business climate are stable population growth, a healthy housing market, expanding professional services, robust small business and healthcare industry growth, and a steady tourism market. The manufacturing sector remains diverse and secure. Over 400 manufacturers employ more than 22,000 people in the area, with key clusters in plastics, electronics assembly, medical equipment, and automotive related components. Asheville-Buncombe County is leading the way in evolving the WNC region toward innovative engineering solutions and highly-efficient manufacturing. Additional economic strength comes from a growing and innovative sector of knowledge-based entrepreneurial firms involved in multimedia, IT/Software development and telecommunications.   Population is approximately 72,231 in the city and 218,876 in the county. Asheville s MSA is currently estimated at 386,000. The four-season temperate climate with average snowfall of only 13 inches makes year-round living easy. Average elevation is 2,165 feet above sea level with surrounding mountain elevations of up to 6,685 feet with Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. Because of this broad range of elevations and corresponding climates and plant growth, the area is one of the most biodiverse in the United States and the world. The quality of life in Asheville is outstanding, with low crime rate, broad employment opportunities, incredible educational opportunities with two universities and many colleges nearby, and diverse housing markets for rental, purchase and retirement.