People QuickFacts Watauga County North Carolina Population, 2012 estimate 51,871 9,752,073 Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 51,079 9,535,471 Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012 1.6% 2.3% Population, 2010 51,079 9,535,483 Persons under 5 years, percent, 2011 3.7% 6.5% Persons under 18 years, percent, 2011 13.8% 23.7% Persons 65 years and over, percent, 2011 12.7% 13.2% Female persons, percent, 2011 49.9% 51.3%  White persons, percent, 2011 (a) 95.3% 72.1% Black persons, percent, 2011 (a) 2.0% 22.0% American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2011 (a) 0.3% 1.5% Asian persons, percent, 2011 (a) 1.0% 2.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander persons, percent, 2011 (a) Z 0.1% Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2011 1.4% 1.9% Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent, 2011 (b) 3.5% 8.6% White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2011 92.1% 65.0%  Living in same house 1 year & over, percent, 2007-2011 71.5% 83.9% Foreign born persons, percent, 2007-2011 3.5% 7.4% Language other than English spoken at home, percent age 5+, 2007-2011 5.3% 10.6% High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-2011 88.3% 84.1% Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-2011 39.3% 26.5% Veterans, 2007-2011 2,964 743,377 Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2007-2011 18.0 23.4  Housing units, 2011 32,932 4,362,740 Homeownership rate, 2007-2011 54.7% 67.8% Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2007-2011 26.9% 17.0% Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2007-2011 $234,300 $152,700 Households, 2007-2011 20,655 3,664,119 Persons per household, 2007-2011 2.15 2.50 Per capita money income in the past 12 months (2011 dollars), 2007-2011 $21,266 $25,256 Median household income, 2007-2011 $34,497 $46,291 Persons below poverty level, percent, 2007-2011 26.3% 16.1%     Business QuickFacts Watauga County North Carolina Private nonfarm establishments, 2010 1,624 218,104 Private nonfarm employment, 2010 15,927 3,234,595 Private nonfarm employment, percent change, 2000-2010 Z -4.5 Nonemployer establishments, 2010 4,250 640,686  Total number of firms, 2007 5,893 798,791 Black-owned firms, percent, 2007 S 10.5% American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent, 2007 F 1.0% Asian-owned firms, percent, 2007 S 2.5% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent, 2007 F 0.1% Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2007 F 2.7% Women-owned firms, percent, 2007 21.7% 28.2%  Manufacturers shipments, 2007 ($1000) 129,842 205,867,299 Merchant wholesaler sales, 2007 ($1000) 169,263 88,795,885 Retail sales, 2007 ($1000) 795,216 114,578,173 Retail sales per capita, 2007 $17,836 $12,641 Accommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000) 131,419 16,126,939 Building permits, 2011 183 32,804     Geography QuickFacts Watauga County North Carolina Land area in square miles, 2010 312.56 48,617.91 Persons per square mile, 2010 163.4 196.1 FIPS Code 189 37 Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area Boone, NC Micro Area   (a) Includes persons reporting only one race. (b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories. FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data NA: Not available D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information X: Not applicable S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown F: Fewer than 100 firms Source: US Census Bureau State & County QuickFacts