City Score: Asheville, NC

Metro area. The Joy Project City Score for Asheville, NC: the condition of its cities from public data and how the church is moving across them, with every source.

The score

Asheville, NC scores 47 out of 100 on the Joy Project City Score. Condition 47 (the city from public data, 60%) and Movement (how the church is moving, 40%). How the score is built.

The condition of Asheville, NC

  • What Asheville, NC is up against: 47 out of 100 — Better than 58% of cbsas
  • Where grace is growing: 65 out of 100 — Better than 74% of cbsas
  • Marriage & family: 57 out of 100 — Better than 60% of cbsas, down 14 points
  • Christian liberty: 14 out of 100 — Better than 7% of cbsas, up 3 points

What affected it

  • This quarter: Adults 25-44 married down 33 percentile points (Marriage & family)
  • This quarter: Cohabiting households up 12 percentile points (Marriage & family)
  • This quarter: Children with married parents down 10 percentile points (Marriage & family)

Sources

  1. Violent crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  2. Property crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  3. Sexually transmitted infections: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  4. Drug overdose deaths: CDC NCHS, provisional county drug overdose deaths (VSRR) · 2025 · Asheville, NC (1 county summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  5. Adult entertainment outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  6. Gambling outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  7. Cannabis outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  8. Liquor outlets and bars: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  9. Predatory lenders: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  10. Abortion facilities (mapped): OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  11. Church adherents: 2020 U.S. Religion Census · 2020 · Asheville, NC · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  12. Congregations: 2020 U.S. Religion Census · 2020 · Asheville, NC · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  13. Charitable giving: IRS Statistics of Income, county data · 2023 · Asheville, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  14. Given to local needs in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
  15. Needs met in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
  16. Volunteers mobilized in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
  17. New believers in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
  18. Children with married parents: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Asheville, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  19. Adults 25-44 married: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Asheville, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  20. Cohabiting households: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Asheville, NC (3 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  21. Divorces: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  22. Marriages: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  23. Births to unmarried mothers: CDC WONDER · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  24. Religious Liberty in the States score: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  25. Safeguards fully in law: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  26. State Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  27. Anti-Christian hate crimes: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · North Carolina · fetched Oct 28, 2026

Quote it

Cite it as: Joy Project City Score v1.0, Asheville, NC, 2026-Q4, staging.joyproject.com/metros/asheville-nc. Methodology.

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