county

Yancey County, NC

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

AI Overview

Yancey County is a small rural county of 18,676 residents with a predominantly owner-occupied housing stock (79.4% homeownership) and low occupancy costs, with a median home value of $222,300 and median gross rent of $807 per month. The workforce is modest in size, with a labor force participation rate of 51.9%, a median age of 49.2 years, and 23.0% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, while median worker earnings sit at $36,146 against a 6.0% unemployment rate. The county posted 5.7% population growth over five years, though a GDP per capita of $23,947 and a poverty rate of 14.9% indicate a low-output local economy.

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

Population

18,676

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$58,709

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

49.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+5.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone17,315 (92.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone481 (2.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race447 (2.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races273 (1.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone157 (0.8%)
  • Asian Alone86 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish692
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic45
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic45
  4. 4.Other Indo-European37
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)33

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

26.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,031

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$23,947

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,699

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,919
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,493
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)730
  4. 4.Construction (Group)692
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)572

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,475
  2. 2.Service Occupations1,721
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,564
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,125
  5. 5.Sales & Office Occupations1,057

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 1.59×)568
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.53×)1,154
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.44×)754
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.42×)172
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.18×)971

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$222,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$807/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

79.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999872 (13.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999828 (12.8%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999797 (12.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999644 (10.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999481 (7.4%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999443 (6.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

51.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,146

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

27.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,106 (78.6%)
  • Worked At Home905 (11.7%)
  • Carpooled541 (7.0%)
  • Walked118 (1.5%)
  • Other90 (1.2%)
  • Public Transit6 (0.1%)

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.