2026 Compare Cities Rankings:
Olympia, WA vs Black Mountain, NC

#1 Most Secure Places to Live in the U.S. (Mid-Size Metro Areas)

#4 Most Secure Places to Live 2011 (Mid-Size Cities)

#10 Safest Places from Natural Disasters

#16 2005 Best Places to Live

#36 Best Green Cities

#49 America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime (Mid-Size Metro Areas)

#8 2005 Best Places to Live

#25 Best Green Cities

#32 America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime (Mid-Size Metro Areas)

We moved here from Kitsap Bremerton/Silverdale WA area and this beats it all the way in all material ways. The only reason not to give it 5 stars is the cost of  More

The city is horrible. The business have been chased out by homeless. The city government makes it for difficult for businesses to thrive. If you like what Seattle is  More

Having lived all over the world we decided to retire in Olympia and live on the Puget Sound. Yes it rains but the weather can change dramatically in a day with sun and  More

I lived in Black Mountain for about ten years and loved it! Beautiful scenery, friendly people, and a great vibe. I had to move back to my home state because of family  More

Moved to the mountains only 2 years ago from a big NC city. Thought this area near Asheville would be nice, but the people here are unkind and no one associates outside  More

There is no town in the US that is more similar to a Thonas Kinkade painting than Black Mountain, NC. You have to experience the magic of the mountains here to  More