Asheville ranks third on Southern Living’s 2026 ‘South’s Greatest Cities’ checklist

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Southern Living, a widely known life-style journal that highlights the American South, has named Asheville one of many area’s greatest cities of 2026 following a vote by its readers.

Asheville was ranked third among the many high cities within the South, with Southern Living recognizing it as an “artsy mountain town with a penchant for an ice-cold beer, farm-to-table plate, and afternoon hike.”

“Despite the widespread damage from Hurricane Helene in 2024, the city has bounced back, welcoming visitors with all the same energy that it has ever had,” the journal article mentioned of Asheville.

The beloved western North Carolina metropolis beat out main Southern cities corresponding to Nashville, New Orleans, Atlanta and Orlando. The solely two cities to outvote Asheville have been Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.

ASHEVILLE EARNS SEVERAL SPOTS ON USA TODAY’S 10 BEST NOMINATION LIST

Southern Living’s high ten cities within the South of 2026 are as follows:

1. Charleston, South Carolina
2. Savannah, Georgia
3. Asheville, North Carolina
4. Nashville, Tennessee
5. New Orleans, Louisiana
6. Lexington, Kentucky
7. Wilmington, North Carolina
8. Chattanooga, Tennessee
9. Greenville, South Carolina
10. St. Petersburg, Florida

See the complete checklist at this link.

In 2025, Asheville was additionally named the third-best metropolis within the Southern U.S. by Southern Living. In 2024, the town ranked fifth.