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Watauga County, NC


Micropolitan Statistical Area: Boone, NC
Designated Market Area: Charlotte, NC-SC
USDA County Type (2015): Government, Recreation/Tourism
American Communities Project County Type (2023): College Towns

Places in Watauga County, NC     [Sort places by name]

 

Tracts in Watauga County, NC

   



Click here to view election data for Watauga County, NC

2022 population: 55,089   ( 4,010 from 2010 , 1,012 from 2020)
Land area: 312.4 square miles
Population density: 176.3 persons per square mile

2022 Census data
White:50,091 90.93% 6.0%
Black:1,0361.88% 21.2%
Indian:1510.27% 29.1%
Asian:7141.30% 48.8%
2+ races:8571.56% 44.8%
Hispanic:2,2404.07% 30.8%
Total non-White:4,9989.07% 31.1%

2020-2022 ComponentsNumberRate
Births:687 6.4
Deaths:9979.2
Net Migration: 1,27111.8
Net Immigration: 910.8
Change in White population:2,823 5.5
Change in Non-White pop.:1,187 2.3




Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change
[Display all years]

Year:
Total population:
White:
Black:
Indian:
Asian:
2+ races:
Hispanic:
Total non-White:

2010
51,079
47,26892.54%
8551.67%
1170.23%
4800.94%
5921.16%
1,7133.35%
3,8117.46%

2000
42,695
40,74495.43%
6731.58%
950.22%
2660.62%
2440.57%
6221.46%
1,9514.57%

1990
36,952
35,67996.55%
7892.14%
610.17%
1420.38%
n/a
2810.76%
1,2733.45%

1980
31,666
31,01697.95%
4071.29%
60.02%
520.16%
n/a
1610.51%
6502.05%

1970
23,404
22,96098.10%
3501.50%
20.01%
80.03%
n/a
590.25%
444 1.90%

Decade:
Components:
Births:
Deaths:
Net Migration:
Net Immigration:
Change in White population:
Change in Non-White pop.:
2000's
NumberRate
3,433 8.0
2,7536.4
1,9544.6
4131.0
6,524 15.3
1,860 4.4
1990's
NumberRate
3,565 9.6
2,5737.0
3,4849.4
1020.3
5,065 13.7
678 1.8
1980's
NumberRate
3,684 11.6
2,081 6.6
3,654 11.5
n/a
4,663 14.7
623 2.0
1970's
NumberRate
n/a
n/a
6,506 27.8
n/a
8,056 34.4
206 0.9

Age, Family & Household Data for Watauga 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
NumberPercent
32.1
6,602 12.0%
48,487 88.0%
8,859 16.1%
21,194
2.30
10,785 50.9%
9,016 83.6%
533 4.9%
10,409 49.1%

2010
NumberPercent
28.4
7,074 13.8%
44,005 86.2%
6,329 12.4%
20,403
2.24
10,473 51.3%
8,531 81.5%
686 6.6%
9,930 48.7%

2000
NumberPercent
30.4
6,912 16.2%
35,783 83.8%
4,738 11.1%
16,552
2.26
9,474 57.2%
7,965 84.1%
616 6.5%
7,078 42.8%

1990
NumberPercent
27.9
6,367 17.2%
30,585 82.8%
3,945 10.7%
13,654
2.38
8,368 61.3%
7,157 85.5%
456 5.4%
5,286 38.7%

1980
NumberPercent
25.3
6,749 21.3%
24,917 78.7%
3,030 9.6%
10,710
2.57
7,217 67.4%
6,175 85.6%
391 5.4%
3,493 32.6%

2022 Housing Data for Watauga County, NC

Housing Data
 Number%
Housing Units32,783 
Median Value$283,000 
Occupied21,19464.6%
Vacant11,58935.4%
Owned12,92261.0%
Rented8,27239.0%
Median Rent$1,067 
Single-Family Units21,48265.5%
    Detached21,02064.1%
    Attached4621.4%
Buldings with 5+ Units5,90518.0%
Mobile Homes2,5827.9%

2022 Income & Employment Data for Watauga County, NC

Household Income
RangeNumber%
Less than $10,0002,28410.8%
$10,000 to $14,9991,1665.5%
$15,000 to $19,9991,3006.1%
$20,000 to $24,9998293.9%
$25,000 to $29,9999224.4%
$30,000 to $34,9991,1505.4%
$35,000 to $39,9998804.2%
$40,000 to $44,9991,2315.8%
$45,000 to $49,9998313.9%
$50,000 to $59,9991,3896.6%
$60,000 to $74,9991,6337.7%
$75,000 to $99,9992,44811.6%
$100,000 to $124,9991,7228.1%
$125,000 to $149,9991,0675.0%
$150,000 to $199,9991,1455.4%
$200,000 or more1,1975.6%
Median Household Income50,034 
Per Capita Income30,807 
Cost of Living Index   (100 = average)
Compared to state105 
Compared to U.S.89 
Welfare Households
 Number%
SSI5222.5%
Public Assistance2421.1%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps1,5057.1%
Labor Force, Ages 25-64
 Number%
Employed23,41361.2%
Unemployed2,5916.8%
In Armed Forces250.1%
Total Labor Force26,02968.0%
Not in Labor Force12,22932.0%
Real Unemployment Rate 38.7%
Class of Worker
 MaleFemale% Male
Private Sector8,3996,57456.1%
Non-Profit1,0881,46442.6%
Self-Employed2,2041,31962.6%
Local Government55295636.6%
State Government1,7521,81249.2%
Federal Government9212143.2%
Total Private + Self10,6037,89357.3%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.3,4844,35344.5%
Total14,08712,24653.5%
Pct. Govt.20.1%  
Occupation
 Number%
Management, Business, Science, Arts4,86618.4%
Sales and Office Occupations6,08023.0%
Professional, Technical5,53721.0%
Service Occupations5,77121.9%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing400.2%
All others4,15015.7%
White Collar 62.4%
Industry
 Number%
Educational services4,69017.8%
Retail trade4,31916.4%
Accommodation and food services3,92214.9%
Health care and social assistance2,5889.8%
Construction1,8276.9%
Other services1,3765.2%
Professional, scientific, technical1,0824.1%
Manufacturing1,0494.0%
Real estate and rental and leasing9443.6%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.8043.0%
Arts, entertainment, recreation7342.8%
Public administration7042.7%
Transportation and warehousing6492.5%
Finance and insurance5462.1%
Wholesale trade4001.5%
Information3641.4%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting2090.8%
Utilities890.3%
Management740.3%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction340.1%

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

Hispanic Breakdown
CountryNumber%
Mexican1,3322.44%
Puerto Rican2590.47%
Cuban1220.22%
Dominican220.04%
Total Central American980.18%
Costa Rican40.01%
Guatemalan10.00%
Honduran590.11%
Nicaraguan80.01%
Panamanian140.03%
Salvadoran120.02%
Other Central American00.00%
Total South American2040.37%
Argentinean20.00%
Bolivian200.04%
Chilean690.13%
Colombian950.17%
Ecuadorian00.00%
Paraguayan00.00%
Peruvian150.03%
Uruguayan00.00%
Venezuelan30.01%
Other South American00.00%
Other Hispanic1280.23%
Asian Breakdown
CountryNumber%
Chinese1900.35%
Vietnamese1820.33%
Korean1590.29%
Burmese460.08%
Thai370.07%
Filipino360.07%
Japanese270.05%
Indian240.04%
Hmong220.04%
Language Spoken at Home
LanguageNumber%
English50,19894.9%
Spanish1,5182.9%
Other Indo-European3340.6%
Russian, Polish, other Slavic2920.6%
Other Asian1520.3%
Vietnamese1400.3%
Other770.1%
Chinese650.1%
French, Haitian, Cajun550.1%
Ancestry
CountryNumber%
English9,60317.6%
German8,28715.2%
Irish6,92812.7%
American6,82812.5%
European3,1315.7%
Scotch-Irish2,8295.2%
Scottish2,4774.5%
Italian2,0213.7%
French1,2692.3%
Polish9771.8%
Swedish6511.2%
British4740.9%
Welsh4090.7%
Dutch4060.7%
Norwegian3730.7%
Citizenship & Nativity
 Number%
U.S. citizen53,51398.1%
Not a citizen1,0271.9%
Native52,81396.8%
Foreign-born1,7273.2%

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Watauga County, NC

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years9-12 YearsH.S. Grad or GEDSome CollegeBach. DegreeGrad Degree
895 2.9%1,451 4.7%6,717 21.5%8,243 26.4%7,527 24.1%6,362 20.4%
  Average years of education: 14.4
Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years 895 2.9%
9-12 Years 1,451 4.7%
H.S. Grad or GED 6,717 21.5%
Some College 8,243 26.4%
Bach. Degree 7,527 24.1%
Grad Degree 6,362 20.4%
Average years of education: 14.4

Source for the above data: U.S. Census Bureau / American Community Survey (5 year-estimates)


Historical Labor Force Data for Watauga County, NC

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
YearLabor
Force		EmployedUnemployedUnemp.
Rate		State
Avg.
1990 19,796 18,916 880 4.4% 4.1%
1991 20,117 19,220 897 4.5% 5.9%
1992 20,803 20,037 766 3.7% 6.3%
1993 21,113 20,496 617 2.9% 5.1%
1994 21,960 21,450 510 2.3% 4.4%
1995 22,568 21,827 741 3.3% 4.4%
1996 22,807 22,151 656 2.9% 4.4%
1997 23,229 22,709 520 2.2% 3.8%
1998 23,375 22,931 444 1.9% 3.5%
1999 23,906 23,558 348 1.5% 3.3%
2000 23,251 22,574 677 2.9% 3.7%
2001 23,664 22,799 865 3.7% 5.6%
2002 22,299 21,251 1,048 4.7% 6.9%
2003 22,873 21,822 1,051 4.6% 6.7%
2004 22,834 21,841 993 4.3% 5.9%
2005 23,318 22,329 989 4.2% 5.6%
2006 23,909 22,952 957 4.0% 5.1%
2007 24,800 23,890 910 3.7% 5.1%
2008 23,089 21,992 1,097 4.8% 6.2%
2009 23,227 21,299 1,928 8.3% 11.0%
2010 26,990 24,894 2,096 7.8% 10.7%
2011 27,147 25,010 2,137 7.9% 10.3%
2012 27,276 25,213 2,063 7.6% 9.5%
2013 27,019 25,339 1,680 6.2% 7.8%
2014 27,043 25,683 1,360 5.0% 6.1%
2015 27,365 26,056 1,309 4.8% 5.7%
2016 27,861 26,608 1,253 4.5% 5.1%
2017 28,525 27,363 1,162 4.1% 4.5%
2018 28,908 27,875 1,033 3.6% 4.0%
2019 29,702 28,698 1,004 3.4% 3.8%
2020 27,997 26,261 1,736 6.2% 7.3%
2021 28,198 27,127 1,071 3.8% 4.9%
2022 29,393 28,438 955 3.2% 3.7%
2023 29,969 29,070 899 3.0% 3.5%
Link: Information about the TRUE unemployment rate from shadowstats.com