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. There's nothing like the smell of a brand new house, and in Banner Elk, you'll find that a large proportion of houses were recently built. New growth in residential real estate is an indication that people are choosing to move to Banner Elk, and putting down their money on brand new construction. Banner Elk’s real estate is, on average, some of the newest in the nation. Banner Elk does seem to be experiencing an influx of affluent people, because 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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 19.43% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.

Banner Elk is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

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.