county

Watauga County, NC

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

AI Overview

Watauga County is a small Appalachian county of 54,607 residents anchored by higher education, reflected in a notably young median age of 31.4 years and a 47.7% bachelor's degree attainment rate—well above typical rural county norms. The labor force participation rate stands at 60.0% with an unemployment rate of 9.0%, and median worker earnings of $20,593 suggest a workforce concentrated in lower-wage sectors. A poverty rate of 24.7% contrasts with a median home value of $321,500, pointing to a cost-of-living pressure relative to local wage levels.

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

Population

54,607

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$51,693

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

31.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.9% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone49,473 (89.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,593 (2.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,493 (2.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,112 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone797 (1.4%)
  • Asian Alone487 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish2,026
  2. 2.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic305
  3. 3.Other Indo-European281
  4. 4.Vietnamese128
  5. 5.Korean116

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

12.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

70.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,150

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$44,734

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,631

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

9.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

24.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance6,945
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services4,687
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)4,215
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services2,744
  5. 5.Construction (Group)1,979

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations10,824
  2. 2.Service Occupations5,987
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations5,515
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,551
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,891

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.88×)4,400
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.40×)4,049
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.20×)1,500
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.19×)7,418
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.13×)2,078

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$321,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,066/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

62.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9992,366 (18.0%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,929 (14.7%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9991,882 (14.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,286 (9.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,180 (9.0%)
  • $750,000 to $999,999975 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

47.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$20,593

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone18,603 (72.5%)
  • Worked At Home2,673 (10.4%)
  • Carpooled2,542 (9.9%)
  • Walked1,222 (4.8%)
  • Public Transit443 (1.7%)
  • Other158 (0.6%)

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.