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.

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 destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 12.88 minutes getting to work every day.

As is often the case in a small town, Banner Elk doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

The citizens of Banner Elk are among the most well-educated in the nation: 44.78% of adults in Banner Elk have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.

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.