Banner Elk is a very small town located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 1,130 people and two associated neighborhoods, Banner Elk is the 398th largest community in North Carolina. Much of the housing stock in Banner Elk was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Banner Elk economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Banner Elk, where the median household income is $67,917.00.Banner Elk is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 94.48% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Banner Elk is a town of service providers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Banner Elk who work in sales jobs (24.37%), food service (17.47%), and personal care services (8.51%). Of important note, Banner Elk is also a town of artists. Banner Elk has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Banner Elk’s character. Also of interest is that Banner Elk has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 19.43% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Banner Elk is a place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Banner Elk to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town. Another notable thing is that Banner Elk is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Banner Elk spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 12.88 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be. Being a small town, Banner Elk does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.Banner Elk is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 44.78% of adults in Banner Elk have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher. The per capita income in Banner Elk in 2022 was $40,200, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $160,800 for a family of four. However, Banner Elk contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Banner Elk is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Banner Elk home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Banner Elk residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Banner Elk include English, German, Irish, Scottish, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Banner Elk is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Hungarian.
