Avery County, NC

County

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2023 Population

17,643

0.204% 1-year decline

US Senator

Thom Tillis

Republican Party

US Senator

Ted Budd

Republican Party

2023 Median Age

46.5

0% 1-year change

2023 Poverty Rate

11%

2.29% 1-year decrease

2023 Median Household Income

$57,657

7.74% 1-year growth

2023 Median Property Value

$233,200

8.01% 1-year growth

2023 Employed Population

6,776

1.16% 1-year growth

About

In 2023, Avery County, NC had a population of 17.6k people with a median age of 46.5 and a median household income of $57,657. Between 2022 and 2023 the population of Avery County, NC declined from 17,679 to 17,643, a −0.204% decrease and its median household income grew from $53,513 to $57,657, a 7.74% increase.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Avery County, NC are White (Non-Hispanic) (87%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (4.21%), Other (Hispanic) (2.82%), Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (2.22%), and Two+ (Hispanic) (1.51%).

None of the households in Avery County, NC reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

97.2% of the residents in Avery County, NC are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Avery County, NC are Lees-McRae College (233 degrees awarded in 2022) and Mayland Community College (177 degrees).

In 2023, the median property value in Avery County, NC was $233,200, and the homeownership rate was 80%.

Most people in Avery County, NC drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 21.9 minutes. The average car ownership in Avery County, NC was 2 cars per household.

Avery County, NC borders Burke County, NC, Caldwell County, NC, McDowell County, NC, Mitchell County, NC, Watauga County, NC, Carter County, TN, and Johnson County, TN.

United States North Carolina

Population & Diversity

Avery County, NC is home to a population of 17.6k people, from which 97.2% are citizens. As of 2023, 4.1% of Avery County, NC residents were born outside of the country (723 people).

In 2023, there were 20.7 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (15.4k people) in Avery County, NC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 742 Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 498 Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

97.2%

2023 Citizenship

97.4%

2022 Citizenship

As of 2023, 97.2% of Avery County, NC residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.4%. In 2022, the percentage of US citizens in Avery County, NC was 97.4%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Avery County, NC compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Avery County, NC

White (Non-Hispanic)
15.4k ± 146
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
742 ± 145
Other (Hispanic)
498 ± 192

5.7%

Hispanic Population

1.01k people

5.7% of the people in Avery County, NC are hispanic (1.01k people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in Avery County, NC as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for North Carolina.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
214,508 ± 11,254 people
India
79,868 ± 6,912 people
Honduras
39,759 ± 4,886 people

In 2022, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of North Carolina was Mexico, the natal country of 214,508 North Carolina residents, followed by India with 79,868 and Honduras with 39,759.

Foreign-Born Population

4.1%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

723 people

3.69%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

652 people

As of 2023, 4.1% of Avery County, NC residents (723 people) were born outside of the United States, which is lower than the national average of 13.8%. In 2022, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Avery County, NC was 3.69%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Avery County, NC compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
427 ± 112
Gulf War (1990s)
258 ± 102
Gulf War (2001-)
157 ± 93

Avery County, NC has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.66 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Avery County, NC employs 6.78k people. The largest industries in Avery County, NC are Retail Trade (895 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (757 people), and Construction (681 people), and the highest paying industries are Utilities ($128,018), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($64,028), and Wholesale Trade ($54,167).

Males in North Carolina have an average income that is 1.31 times higher than the average income of females, which is $57,464. The income inequality in North Carolina (measured using the Gini index) is 0.47, which is lower than than the national average.

Employment

Occupations

6.78k

2023 Value

± 602

1.16%

1 Year growth

± 12.2%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Avery County, NC grew at a rate of 1.16%, from 6.7k employees to 6.78k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Avery County, NC, are Sales & Related Occupations (830 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (770 people), and Management Occupations (768 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Avery County, NC.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for false.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in North Carolina (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

6.78k

2023 Value

± 602

1.16%

1 Year growth

± 12.2%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Avery County, NC grew at a rate of 1.16%, from 6.7k employees to 6.78k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Avery County, NC, are Retail Trade (895 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (757 people), and Construction (681 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Avery County, NC, though some of these residents may live in Avery County, NC and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$42,539

Median earning men ± $4,000

$31,056

Median earning women ± $4,025

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($58,000), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($50,417), and Manufacturing ($46,563).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($48,676), Manufacturing ($44,592), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($37,935).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for North Carolina.

Y-Axis

3.04%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 4.86M people employed in North Carolina. This represents a 3.04% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 10.9%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in North Carolina.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

46
Construction
41
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
39
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

Depending on the option selected, the visualization shows the number of employees or number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$32.6k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$30.9k
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
$27.4k
Accommodation and Food Services

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

In 2022, universities in Avery County, NC awarded 410 degrees. The student population of Avery County, NC in 2022 is skewed towards women, with 635 male students and 1,003 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Avery County, NC are White (332 and 83.2%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (25 and 6.27%), Unknown (21 and 5.26%), and Black or African American (14 and 3.51%).

The largest universities in Avery County, NC by number of degrees awarded are Lees-McRae College (233 and 56.8%) and Mayland Community College (177 and 43.2%).

The most popular majors in Avery County, NC are Liberal Arts & Sciences (46 and 11.2%), General Business Administration & Management (42 and 10.2%), and Wildlife Biology (33 and 8.05%).

The median tuition cost in Avery County, NC for private four year colleges is $26,490.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2022 in Avery County, NC, the percentage of applicants admitted was 61.3%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 19.9%. The number of students enrolled in 2022 was 1,638 (38.8% men and 61.2% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2022 there were 1,638 students enrolled in Avery County, NC, 38.8% men and 61.2% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 1,321 records, of which 61% were women and 39% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Business Administration & Management
35 degrees awarded
Wildlife Biology
33 degrees awarded
Elementary Education & Teaching
29 degrees awarded

In 2022, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Avery County, NC was General Business Administration & Management with 35 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Avery County, NC according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Lees-McRae College
233 degrees awarded
Mayland Community College
177 degrees awarded

In 2022, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Lees-McRae College with 233 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2022, 161 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Avery County, NC, which is 0.647 times less than the 249 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2022 the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 332 degrees mean that there were 13.3 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 25 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($26,490) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2022.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($2,950) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2022.

Public, 2-year ($1,194) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for North Carolina.

Measure

In 2022, 0.944% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while 0.805% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for North Carolina.

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2022 were High School or Equivalent (2.16M), Some college (1.84M), and Bachelors Degree (1.63M).

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Avery County, NC was $233,200 in 2023, which is 0.769 times smaller than the national average of $303,400. Between 2022 and 2023 the median property value increased from $215,900 to $233,200, a 8.01% increase. The homeownership rate in Avery County, NC is 80%, which is approximately the same as the national average of 65%.

People in Avery County, NC have an average commute time of 21.9 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Avery County, NC is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Median household income in Avery County, NC is $57,657. In 2023, the tract with the highest Median Household Income in Avery County, NC was Census Tract 9304 with a value of $89,573, followed by Census Tract 9302 and Census Tract 9301, with respective values of $70,962 and $48,984.

In 2023, 14.1% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Avery County, NC. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 2.38%.

Housing

Property

$233,200

Median Property Value 2023

±$17,392

$5,245

Median Property Taxes

±$474

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Avery County, NC the largest share of households pay taxes in the < $800 range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Avery County, NC compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

80%

Homeownership

2023

70.6%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2023

In 2023, 80% of the housing units in Avery County, NC were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 78.6%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Avery County, NC compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

Highest Median Household Income (Total)

Census Tract 9304
Census Tract 9302
Census Tract 9301

In 2023, the tract with the highest Median Household Income (Total) in Avery County, NC was Census Tract 9304 with a value of $89,573, followed by Census Tract 9302 and Census Tract 9301, with respective values of $70,962 and $48,984.

The following map shows all of the tracts in Avery County, NC colored by their Median Household Income (Total).

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$57,657

Median Household Income

± $4,054

6.56k

Number of Households

± 541

In 2023, the median household income of the 6.56k households in Avery County, NC grew to $57,657 from the previous year's value of $53,513.

The following chart displays the households in Avery County, NC distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Avery County, NC is from North Carolina.

0.47

2022 Wage GINI in North Carolina

0.47

2021 Wage GINI in North Carolina

In 2022, the income inequality in North Carolina was 0.47 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.0732% decline from 2021 to 2022, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for North Carolina was lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in North Carolina in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in North Carolina across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2023

Drove Alone (80.5%)
Carpooled (8.14%)
Worked At Home (7.02%)

In 2023, 80.5% of workers in Avery County, NC drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (8.14%) and those who worked at home (7.02%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

21.9 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Avery County, NC have a shorter commute time (21.9 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 1.61% of the workforce in Avery County, NC have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Avery County, NC compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Avery County, NC distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Avery County, NC have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2023, 14.1% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Avery County, NC. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 2.38%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

11% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Avery County, NC (1.64k out of 15k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Males 45 - 54, followed by Females 55 - 64 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Avery County, NC is White, followed by Hispanic and Other.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2023, 24% of the children was living in poverty in Avery County, NC. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 8.4%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Health

85.9% of the population of Avery County, NC has health coverage, with 33.3% on employee plans, 13.8% on Medicaid, 19.9% on Medicare, 15.2% on non-group plans, and 3.71% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Avery County, NC see 3514 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.0854% increase from the previous year (3511 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 2552 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 205 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 47.7% were men and 52.3% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

3,514 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Avery County, NC

Primary care physicians in Avery County, NC see an average of 3,514 patients per year. This represents a 0.0854% increase from the previous year (3,511 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Avery County, NC in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2023, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 18.2% under 18 years, 18.3% between 18 and 34 years, 38.5% between 35 and 64 years, and 25.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 47.7% were men and 52.3% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

14.1%

Uninsured

33.3%

Employer Coverage

13.8%

Medicaid

19.9%

Medicare

15.2%

Non-Group

3.71%

Military or VA

Between 2022 and 2023, the percent of uninsured citizens in Avery County, NC declined by 3.43% from 14.6% to 14.1%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Avery County, NC changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.