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2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Cities and towns 5 Transportation 6 External links |
History
The county was formed in 1849 from parts of Ashe County, Caldwell County, Wilkes County, and Yancey County. It was named for the Watauga River, whose name is said to be a Native American word meaning "beautiful water."
In 1861 parts of Watauga County, Burke County, Caldwell County, McDowell County, and Yancey County were combined to form Mitchell County. In 1911, parts of Watauga County, Caldwell County, and Mitchell County were combined to form Avery County.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 810 km² (313 mi²). 809 km² (313 mi²) of it is land and 1 km² (0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.07% water.
Townships
The county is divided into fifteen townships: Bald Mountain, Beaverdam, Blowing Rock, Blue Ridge, Boone, Brushy Fork, Cove Creek, Elk, Laurel Creek, Meat Camp, New River, North Fork, Shawneehaw, Stony Fork, and Watauga.
Adjacent Counties
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 42,695 people, 16,540 households, and 9,411 families residing in the county. The population density is 53/km² (137/mi²). There are 23,155 housing units at an average density of 29/km² (74/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 96.45% White, 1.59% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 16,540 households out of which 23.20% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.40% are married couples living together, 6.80% have a female householder with no husband present, and 43.10% are non-families. 28.60% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 2.80.
In the county the population is spread out with 16.30% under the age of 18, 27.80% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $32,611, and the median income for a family is $45,508. Males have a median income of $29,135 versus $22,006 for females. The per capita income for the county is $17,258. 17.90% of the population and 7.20% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 11.50% are under the age of 18 and 10.60% are 65 or older.
No commercial airports or passenger train depots are nearby. A small general aviation airstrip is located in Boone. Commercial airline passengers typically utilize the airports at Charlotte or Greensboro, North Carolina. Some visitors use Raleigh-Durham International Airport, which may have lower airfares on some routes, but is a considerable distance away.Cities and towns
Transportation