county

Avery County, NC

Demographic and economic profile of Avery County, NC, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Avery County is a small mountain community of 17,643 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 46.2%, reflecting its older median age of 47.1 years and likely seasonal or part-time employment patterns tied to the local economy. The workforce skews toward lower educational attainment—21.9% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—with median worker earnings of $31,328 and a median household income of $61,428 against a relatively low cost of living anchored by a median gross rent of $791/month. The county has seen modest population growth of 0.8% over five years, a high homeownership rate of 83.0%, and a poverty rate of 11.0%, with GDP per capita reaching $37,970.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

17,643

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$61,428

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.8% since 2018

Avery County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,338 (86.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race689 (3.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone676 (3.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone525 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races276 (1.6%)
  • Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone80 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish697
  2. 2.Other Indo-European69
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic40
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)14
  5. 5.Arabic11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

14.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,271

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$37,970

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,899

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,313
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)823
  3. 3.Construction (Group)821
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services629
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)584

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,363
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,565
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,295
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations855
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations830

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.09×)334
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.61×)517
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.45×)681
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.21×)895
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.18×)377

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$233,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$791/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

83.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999838 (14.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999649 (11.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999645 (11.4%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999586 (10.4%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999505 (9.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999378 (6.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

86.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

46.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$31,328

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,032 (78.2%)
  • Worked At Home591 (9.2%)
  • Carpooled574 (8.9%)
  • Walked157 (2.4%)
  • Other34 (0.5%)
  • Public Transit32 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.