As this graph suggests, there's something to the common gripe that it's tough for everyday folks to afford a home in the Asheville area: Between 2000 and 2006, the average cost of a home here jumped 56 percent. In the same period, the median household income in Buncombe County was substantially more sluggish, growing by 12 percent.

According to data provided by the North Carolina Association of Realtors, the average selling price of homes in the Asheville area reached $271,828 in 2006, reflecting a steady increase from the 2001 average ($169,737). And data from the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce shows the median household income in Buncombe County rising from $36,795 in 2000 to an estimated $41,169 in 2006. The Chamber estimates that 59.2 percent of Buncombe County households had incomes below $50,000 last year.

Blue Bar: Rise in Asheville-area average home price, 2000-2006.
Yellow Bar: Rise in median household income during the same period.
Sources: North Carolina Association of Realtors, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce.
- Rebecca Bowe