Town · Watauga County, North Carolina

Boone, North Carolina

Boone is a town in Watauga County, North Carolina, part of the Boone, NC metro area. It has 20,032 residents. Boone, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 65 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,483 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #128 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), restaurants and bars (high) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on poverty rate (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and median household income (low).

65High

Quality-of-life score: #5,483 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #128 of 458 in NC
Population: 20,032 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 3,135.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 3707080

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety82#2,773/15,637
Economy4#15,002/15,631
Housing7#13,885/14,977
Health34#10,344/15,609
Healthcare56#6,886/15,650
Environment96#638/15,453
Education95#821/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,310/15,650
Community81#2,916/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,056/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Boone, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Watauga County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Hot days · low0 days
100/100North Carolina 32 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationWatauga County value
Restaurants and bars · high16.1 /10k
96/100North Carolina 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWatauga County value
Reading scores · high3.40
95/100North Carolina 3.07United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWatauga County value
Average commute time · low15.8 min
95/100North Carolina 25.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWatauga County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high8.4 /10k
93/100North Carolina 4.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWatauga County value

Weaknesses

Poverty rate · high51.2%
0/100North Carolina 12.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.569
1/100North Carolina 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Median household income · low$30,065
1/100North Carolina $74,055United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100North Carolina 11.5United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWatauga County value
Home price to income ratio · high13.7×
2/100North Carolina 4.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100North Carolina 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
36.0% (2015-2019) → 8.7% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
46.2% (2015-2019) → 56.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
New homes permittedImproving
2.2 /1k (2021) → 3.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+35%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$22,434 (2015-2019) → $30,065 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.8% (2015-2019) → 87.5% (2020-2024)
+5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
73.5% (2015-2019) → 78.8% (2020-2024)
+5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Boone, North Carolina improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Bachelor's++11 points46.2% → 56.8%
Inequality−0.0650.634 → 0.569
Household income+34%$22,434 → $30,065

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Boone, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.6 min2015-2019	15.8 min2020-2024	+2.1 min	Within the margin of error	26%
Bachelor's degree or higher	46.2%2015-2019	56.8%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	91%
Broadband subscriptions	81.8%2015-2019	87.5%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Effective property tax rate	0.62%2015-2019	0.58%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	22%
High school diploma or higher	89.2%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	12.0×2015-2019	13.7×2020-2024	+1.7×	Within the margin of error	6%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.6342015-2019	0.5692020-2024	−0.065	Improved	89%
Median household income	$22,4342015-2019	$30,0652020-2024	+34%	Improved	63%
Poverty rate	53.0%2015-2019	51.2%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Public transit commuters	5.6%2015-2019	4.2%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Rent as share of income	51.0%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	0 points	Little change	55%
Rent-burdened households	73.5%2015-2019	78.8%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Unemployment rate	14.4%2015-2019	12.0%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.7%2015-2019	7.4%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	28%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Boone, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Boone, North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Boone, North Carolina itself moved +0.2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

20,032 residents (±27)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

5,975 households (±431)

Boone, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k46%2,768
$25k–50k22%1,336
$50k–75k11%†630

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

5,975 households (±431)

Boone, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own26%1,566
Rent74%4,409

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

8,382 workers (±718)

Boone, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone64%5,336
Carpool8.1%†675
Public transit4.2%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Boone, NC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Watauga County, the county holding most of Boone's residents.

Watauga County has 1,740 employer establishments, 314 for every 10,000 residents (1.27× the US rate of 248; 1.32× North Carolina's), with 20,781 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,244. The Census Bureau also counts 5,277 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,740; 5,277 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 314; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 20,781
Average annual pay: $43,244; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Watauga County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Lessors of real estate	147	26.6	2.16×More than typical	576	$44,844	836
Restaurants and other eating places	141	25.5	1.39×More than typical	3,325	$19,672	17
Ambulatory health care services	118	21.3	1.02×About typical	1,375	$66,446	246
Construction of buildings	114	20.6	2.72×More than typical	481	$48,491	275
Specialty trade contractors	112	20.2	1.31×More than typical	579	$50,826	408
Full-service restaurants	85	15.4	2.00×More than typical	2,188	$21,007	10
Real estate agents and brokers	77	13.9	2.86×More than typical	192	$59,172	190
Religious organizations	60	10.8	1.95×More than typical	482	$20,766	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	59	10.7	1.58×More than typical	215	$37,214	447
Clothing and accessories stores	52	9.4	2.59×More than typical	499	$18,898	29
Landscaping services	43	7.8	2.22×More than typical	142	$38,577	162
Management, scientific and technical consulting	43	7.8	1.16×About typical	95	$58,821	211

Rank places for an industry Open Watauga County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 55,362 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $100.6K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Boone, North Carolina: $5.02 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $100.6K; −97% vs FY2025
Per resident: $5.02; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.5%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Federal Highway Administration$113.6K100%
Department of the Army$5100.5%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

545FY2017
9.5KFY2018
9.9KFY2019
2.3KFY2020
132KFY2021
35KFY2022
58KFY2023
856.3FY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$113.6K100%
Other specialty trade contractors · 2389$5100.5%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Boone, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Boone is mostly in Watauga County.

See federal money in Watauga County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Boone, North Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Virginia FoxxR-NC-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Watauga County80100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Boone, NC88

Other cities and towns in Watauga County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3707080

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends