Buncombe County By The Numbers

lrdy cmmntd n th vrrdng nd t s th lmtd shvll CDBG nd HM grnt fnds t bld mr nts t lss cst pr nt nd wnt t clrfy tht w shld nt lmt r ptns n thr wys.

n s tht lrdy sd tht ll sbsdzd hsng shld thr b mltplx, r snglwd mbl hms nd tht ll nw nts shld b ndr 300 sqr ft. nd t dd tht snc mny snglwds r vr 600 nd vn 900 sqr ft, mny, f nt mst, sbsdzd nts cn nd shld b BTH snglwd nd dplx, vn trplx s pssbl. nd lrgr fmls cn b plcd n xstng pblc nts, mny f whch r lrgr, whl th nw nts g t th smllr fmls.

Scndly, f t s chpr, nd/r gnrts lss nghbrhd ppstn fr shvll t bld sbsdzd hsng tsd f shvll, thn tht s fn fr th sgnfcnt nmbr f rcpnts wh cn b ntcd t lv n ths plcs. Chpr lctns ncld Lcstr, Sthstrn Rthrfrd Cnty, Jhnsn Cty TN, ndrsn SC, Gdsdn L, mrll TX, nd prts f Mxc, whch r spclly stbl fr dsbld r rtrd ppl wh d nt nd t cmmt. Ths ntcd t lv d nd t cntn t cnt s shvll rsdnts n trms f lgblty, r ls thy wldn’t lv.

Thrdly, prrty shld b gvn t ths rcpnts wh cn ssmbl grps f rmmts wh r nt bld dscndnts (thy cn b sblngs, r prnts f dlt prmry rcpnts) Th mr lw ncm rmmts thy r wllng t tk n, th hghr n th prrty lst thy shld g.

s fr stndrds, my cllg drm rm ws rnd 200 sqr ft nd cntnd ttl strngr, ths thnk fmly f 5 cn ft qlly wll n 300 sqr ft. nd fmls bggr thn tht r nt sstnbl, nd s cnnt b plcd n sstnbl hsng.

nthr d t lmnt wtng lsts nd trt ll lw ncm ppl qlly, s smply dvd th fnds by th nmbr f lw ncm shvll rsdnts nd ss rntl vchrs fr tht mnt. Ths wh cn’t spplmnt thm ngh t rnt prmnntly cn sty n htls r rmng hss tmprrly, drng wntr f thy r ws, whch ncdntly s nt trst ssn s htls shld hv spc. Th rntl vchrs shld b gd nywhr, nt jst n shvll r NC r th S. Th mrkt cn d th rst.

pps th s f CDBG fr cnmc dvlpmnt r hstrcl prsrvtn. t shld ll g t hsng.

-ln Dtmr

PS 300 sqr ft pr nt rfrs t clmt cntrlld flr spc. ddtnl nhtd strg spc mght b snsbl f chp.

Nt: md sgnfcnt mprvmnts vr my frst pst, whch dn’t thnk cn dlt. nyn wh cn dlt my frst pst s wlcm t d s f spc s ny cncrn.

Rate this comment: 2  1

Some facts from the North Carolina Justice Center:

Unemployment

• Buncombe County’s unemployment rate was 4.9% in August 2008; the state rate was 6.6%. In August 2009, the county unemployment rate increased to 8.3%; the state rate increased to 10.8%
• The county’s August 2009 unemployment rate was 5.2 percentage points higher than the 2000 rate of 3.1%.
• 119,208 workers were a part of Buncombe County’s labor force in August 2009.
  Poverty
• 13.7% of Buncombe County residents (30,263 people) lived in poverty in 2008; the state rate was 14.6%
• 35.8% of Buncombe County residents were low-income in 2008, meaning their incomes were less than twice the federal poverty level ($21,200 for a family of four in 2008)

Wages & Income

• In 2008, the Buncombe County’s average weekly wage of $676 equaled 88.5% of the statewide wage of $764
• Median household income in the county was $43,640, which equaled 93.8% of the statewide household income of $46,549
• Per capita income in Buncombe County was $27,767, which equaled 96.1% of the statewide per capita income of $28,908

Income Inequality
The richest 5% of Buncombe County households had an average income that was 31 times greater than that of the poorest fifth of households and 7.8 times greater than that of the middle fifth of households.

Health Coverage
15.8% of Buncombe County residents did not have health insurance in 2008, compared to 15.9% of all North Carolinians.

Food Stamps
In September 2008, 21,791 Buncombe County residents received assistance from the food and nutrition program. In September 2009, the number increased by 29.4% to 28,196.

The 2008 Living Income Standard

• A working family in Buncombe County with 1 adult and 2 children needs to earn, on average, a total of $34,392 annually to afford basic living expenses in the county. This total is 195.4% of the 2008 federal poverty level for a family of three ($17,600)
• The county’s living income standard for this family requires an hourly wage of $16.53, which is $9.28 more than the $7.25 per hour earned in a minimum wage job ($15,080 annually)
• A working family in Buncombe County with 2 adults and 2 children needs to earn, on average, a total of $39,911 annually to afford basic living expenses in the county. This total is 188.3% of the 2008 federal poverty level for a family of four ($21,200)
• The county’s living income standard for this family requires them to earn a combined hourly wage of $19.19, which is $4.69 more than the $14.50 per hour earned through working two minimum wage jobs ($30,160 annually)

I suspect all of these figures are much worse today. The full report from the NC Justice Center can be downloaded here.

Sources: Local Area Unemployment Statistics (BLS); 2008 American Community Survey; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; NC Division of Social Services; NC Budget & Tax Center’s Living Income Standard report

Rate this comment: 3  0

According to the Asheville Chamber of Commerce’s website, since this time last year, the metro area’s…

• Unemployment rate is up 3.4%
• Total Employment is down by 4.6%
• Number of Homes Sold is up 15.7%
• Average Price of Homes Sold is down 20.2%
• Hotel/Motel Sales (Buncombe County) is down 3%
• Airport Activity (total Passengers) is down 4.69%
• Number of New Building Permits is unchanged
• Value of Building Permits is down 3.5%

Rate this comment: 2  0