2022 population: 273,589 ( 35,271 from 2010 , 4,143 from 2020)
Land area: 656.5 square miles
Population density: 416.7 persons per square mile

2022 Census data
White:	226,363	82.74%	12.5%
Black:	15,919	5.82%	6.3%
Indian:	927	0.34%	19.2%
Asian:	4,356	1.59%	63.8%
2+ races:	5,633	2.06%	38.3%
Hispanic:	20,391	7.45%	43.1%

Total non-White:	47,226	17.26%	27.4%

2020-2022 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	5,390	10.0
Deaths:	7,351	13.6
Net Migration:	5,420	10.1
Net Immigration:	642	1.2

Change in White population:	25,122	10.5
Change in Non-White pop.:	10,149	4.3

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2010
238,318
201,241	84.44%
14,979	6.29%
778	0.33%
2,659	1.12%
4,072	1.71%
14,254	5.98%
37,077	15.56%

2000
206,330
180,721	87.59%
15,310	7.42%
748	0.36%
1,431	0.69%
2,169	1.05%
5,730	2.78%
25,609	12.41%

1990
174,821
158,154	90.47%
14,027	8.02%
526	0.30%
953	0.55%
n/a
1,161	0.66%
16,667	9.53%

1980
160,934
145,456	90.38%
13,846	8.60%
312	0.19%
337	0.21%
n/a
883	0.55%
15,478	9.62%

1970
145,056
128,891	88.86%
15,224	10.50%
145	0.10%
144	0.10%
n/a
583	0.40%
16,165	11.14%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2000's
24,504	11.9
20,598	10.0
18,464	8.9
3,939	1.9

20,520	9.9
11,468	5.6

Number	Rate
1990's
23,524	13.5
20,316	11.6
19,169	11.0
934	0.5

22,567	12.9
8,942	5.1

Number	Rate
1980's
21,210	13.2
17,027	10.6
9,958	6.2
n/a

12,698	7.9
1,189	0.7

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
8,962	6.2
n/a

16,565	11.4
-687	-0.5

Age, Family & Household Data for Buncombe County, NC

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2022
Number	Percent
42.3
48,538	17.7%
225,051	82.3%
55,563	20.3%

102,921
2.55

61,183	59.4%
47,977	78.4%
5,155	8.4%
41,738	40.6%

2010
Number	Percent
40.6
48,840	20.5%
189,478	79.5%
38,096	16.0%

100,412
2.30

61,037	60.8%
45,329	74.3%
6,190	10.1%
39,375	39.2%

2000
Number	Percent
38.8
45,081	21.8%
161,249	78.2%
31,754	15.4%

85,743
2.33

55,955	65.3%
44,013	78.7%
5,161	9.2%
29,788	34.7%

1990
Number	Percent
36.9
38,936	22.3%
135,885	77.7%
28,329	16.2%

70,755
2.40

49,499	70.0%
40,226	81.3%
3,769	7.6%
21,256	30.0%

1980
Number	Percent
33.3
41,588	25.8%
119,346	74.2%
22,061	13.7%

60,256
2.61

45,196	75.0%
37,817	83.7%
3,206	7.1%
15,060	25.0%

2022 Housing Data for Buncombe County, NC

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	4,069	4.0%
$10,000 to $14,999	4,447	4.3%
$15,000 to $19,999	4,488	4.4%
$20,000 to $24,999	4,484	4.4%
$25,000 to $29,999	3,880	3.8%
$30,000 to $34,999	4,514	4.4%
$35,000 to $39,999	4,376	4.3%
$40,000 to $44,999	4,486	4.4%
$45,000 to $49,999	4,232	4.1%
$50,000 to $59,999	7,774	7.6%
$60,000 to $74,999	11,059	10.7%
$75,000 to $99,999	13,171	12.8%
$100,000 to $124,999	9,470	9.2%
$125,000 to $149,999	6,665	6.5%
$150,000 to $199,999	6,773	6.6%
$200,000 or more	9,033	8.8%

Median Household Income	66,531
Per Capita Income	39,495

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to state	125
Compared to U.S.	105

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	3,378	3.3%
Public Assistance	1,272	1.2%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	9,513	9.2%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	114,401	72.0%
Unemployed	4,621	2.9%
In Armed Forces	184	0.1%

Total Labor Force	119,206	75.0%
Not in Labor Force	39,679	25.0%

Real Unemployment Rate		27.9%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	47,906	41,688	53.5%
Non-Profit	3,376	6,038	35.9%
Self-Employed	10,154	7,247	58.4%

Local Government	2,360	4,018	37.0%
State Government	2,224	3,696	37.6%
Federal Government	1,435	1,414	50.4%

Total Private + Self	58,060	48,935	54.3%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	9,395	15,166	38.3%
Total	67,455	64,101	51.3%

Pct. Govt.	11.5%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	19,618	14.9%
Sales and Office Occupations	27,128	20.6%
Professional, Technical	35,224	26.7%
Service Occupations	24,478	18.6%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	508	0.4%
All others	25,435	19.3%

White Collar		62.2%

Industry
	Number	%
Health care and social assistance	22,391	17.0%
Retail trade	16,433	12.5%
Accommodation and food services	14,258	10.8%
Manufacturing	12,681	9.6%
Educational services	10,218	7.7%
Construction	10,186	7.7%
Professional, scientific, technical	10,184	7.7%
Other services	6,513	4.9%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	4,396	3.3%
Public administration	4,282	3.2%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	3,784	2.9%
Transportation and warehousing	3,634	2.8%
Finance and insurance	3,610	2.7%
Real estate and rental and leasing	3,204	2.4%
Wholesale trade	2,310	1.8%
Information	1,807	1.4%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	1,077	0.8%
Utilities	667	0.5%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	220	0.2%
Management	28	0.0%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	10,580	3.93%
Puerto Rican	1,334	0.50%
Cuban	581	0.22%
Dominican	400	0.15%

Total Central American	3,054	1.13%
Costa Rican	44	0.02%
Guatemalan	1,036	0.38%
Honduran	950	0.35%
Nicaraguan	72	0.03%
Panamanian	6	0.00%
Salvadoran	946	0.35%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	2,235	0.83%
Argentinean	223	0.08%
Bolivian	78	0.03%
Chilean	0	0.00%
Colombian	567	0.21%
Ecuadorian	218	0.08%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	82	0.03%
Uruguayan	29	0.01%
Venezuelan	611	0.23%
Other South American	427	0.16%

Other Hispanic	909	0.34%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Indian	830	0.31%
Chinese	475	0.18%
Filipino	439	0.16%
Korean	431	0.16%
Japanese	375	0.14%
Thai	220	0.08%
Vietnamese	48	0.02%
Indonesian	37	0.01%
Laotian	31	0.01%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	235,400	91.6%
Spanish	14,405	5.6%
Russian, Polish, other Slavic	2,243	0.9%
Other Indo-European	2,022	0.8%
French, Haitian, Cajun	659	0.3%
Other Asian	577	0.2%
German, other Germanic	432	0.2%
Arabic	383	0.1%
Chinese	324	0.1%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
English	66,706	24.8%
German	32,094	11.9%
Irish	25,910	9.6%
American	17,351	6.4%
Scottish	10,086	3.7%
Italian	9,832	3.6%
Scotch-Irish	8,544	3.2%
French	6,613	2.5%
European	6,175	2.3%
Polish	3,775	1.4%
British	2,630	1.0%
Russian	2,605	1.0%
Dutch	2,281	0.8%
Norwegian	2,136	0.8%
Welsh	1,913	0.7%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	259,957	96.5%
Not a citizen	9,492	3.5%

Native	252,154	93.6%
Foreign-born	17,295	6.4%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
5,992	3.0%	9,764	4.9%	46,355	23.2%	51,869	25.9%	51,168	25.6%	34,936	17.5%
Average years of education: 14.1

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	5,992	3.0%
9-12 Years	9,764	4.9%
H.S. Grad or GED	46,355	23.2%
Some College	51,869	25.9%
Bach. Degree	51,168	25.6%
Grad Degree	34,936	17.5%
Average years of education: 14.1

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	91,589	88,839	2,750	3.0%	4.1%
1991	94,647	90,039	4,608	4.9%	5.9%
1992	96,709	91,322	5,387	5.6%	6.3%
1993	98,143	93,965	4,178	4.3%	5.1%
1994	99,084	95,265	3,819	3.9%	4.4%
1995	99,078	95,424	3,654	3.7%	4.4%
1996	102,545	99,177	3,368	3.3%	4.4%
1997	105,318	102,271	3,047	2.9%	3.8%
1998	104,999	102,166	2,833	2.7%	3.5%
1999	104,869	102,437	2,432	2.3%	3.3%

2000	107,737	104,346	3,391	3.1%	3.7%
2001	109,403	104,672	4,731	4.3%	5.6%
2002	110,944	105,071	5,873	5.3%	6.9%
2003	114,178	108,514	5,664	5.0%	6.7%
2004	114,238	109,017	5,221	4.6%	5.9%
2005	115,887	110,493	5,394	4.7%	5.6%
2006	119,106	114,306	4,800	4.0%	5.1%
2007	120,498	115,900	4,598	3.8%	5.1%
2008	122,757	116,987	5,770	4.7%	6.2%
2009	122,941	112,255	10,686	8.7%	11.0%

2010	124,191	113,649	10,542	8.5%	10.7%
2011	125,337	115,383	9,954	7.9%	10.3%
2012	127,452	117,988	9,464	7.4%	9.5%
2013	127,980	120,533	7,447	5.8%	7.8%
2014	127,808	121,978	5,830	4.6%	6.1%
2015	130,295	124,676	5,619	4.3%	5.7%
2016	133,951	128,768	5,183	3.9%	5.1%
2017	136,382	131,668	4,714	3.5%	4.5%
2018	139,003	134,767	4,236	3.0%	4.0%
2019	141,707	137,569	4,138	2.9%	3.8%

2020	136,480	125,114	11,366	8.3%	7.3%
2021	136,559	130,767	5,792	4.2%	4.9%
2022	141,963	137,753	4,210	3.0%	3.7%
2023	144,131	140,230	3,901	2.7%	3.5%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	130,081
Median Value	$328,900

Occupied	102,921	79.1%
Vacant	27,160	20.9%

Owned	66,276	64.4%
Rented	36,645	35.6%
Median Rent	$1,209

Single-Family Units	86,290	66.3%
Detached	82,972	63.8%
Attached	3,318	2.6%
Buldings with 5+ Units	20,201	15.5%
Mobile Homes	16,514	12.7%

Buncombe County, NC

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Buncombe County, NC

2022 Housing Data for Buncombe County, NC

2022 Income & Employment Data for Buncombe County, NC

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Buncombe County, NC

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Buncombe County, NC

Historical Labor Force Data for Buncombe County, NC