Watauga County GIS Maps

Watauga County Maps

The maps below show a few of the county map styles included in our downloads. County packages include map exports in JPEG, PNG, SVG, PDF and GeoTIFF formats plus more than 20 GIS layers for mapping, research and analysis. Available layers include zip codes, area codes, subdivisions, school districts, political boundaries, roads, water features, points of interest and more.

County packages also include historical county demographics, business intelligence, analytical dashboards, AI-ready prompts, markdown files and related reference data. Everything is organized to save hours of manual work collecting current data, cleaning it and joining it together. That makes it easier to move faster on analytics, due diligence, business planning and location research. Paid packages are built for commercial use, but some package contents include source-specific attribution or notice guidance. Review Licensing & Data Source Notices.

Watauga County Parcels

Watauga County has 46,252 mapped parcels covering 195,374 acres. The median assessed value is $177,200. The median lot size is 0.99 acres. 4,264 parcels are 10 acres or larger. Residential vacant accounts for 35.6% of parcels. Auxiliary improvement follows at 3.6%. Of the parcels with a recorded build year, half were built in 1988 or earlier. The records carry 31,643 distinct owner names. About 20% of parcels list an owner mailing address outside North Carolina. Owner names, mailing addresses, assessed values and lot sizes are on nearly every parcel. Site addresses reach 63.1%. Browse the interactive Watauga County Parcel viewer here.

Watauga County Parcel Data Coverage

Field coverage measured across all Watauga County parcel records. Download free sample data here.

Watauga County Population

Watauga County had 54,086 residents in 2020. That was 5.9% higher than in 2010. Watauga County added 11,391 people between 2000 and 2020, which points to steady long-term growth. The county is fairly spread out, with about 173 people per square mile. Some of the county's most populated postal areas include Boone, Banner Elk and Vilas.

Population Trend in Watauga County NC

Watauga County Population per 2000, 2010 and 2020 census counts with a baseline 2030 projection.

Watauga County Zip Codes

Watauga County has 7 zip codes. Some of the county's most populated zip codes include Boone (28607), Banner Elk (28604) and Vilas (28692). Boone is the largest zip by population, with about 35,495 residents or 66% of the county total. Together, the three largest zips account for about 86% of all county residents based on 2020 population estimates.

Most Populated Zip Codes in Watauga County NC

Watauga County Zip Code populations and trends per most recent census data.

Watauga County Demographics

Watauga County has a median age of 32.2, which makes the county a little younger than North Carolina overall. About 12.4% of residents are under 18, while 16.7% are 65 or older. That gives the county a fairly even mix of younger families and older adults. The largest age group is 18 to 24 at about 30.5% of the population, which suggests a younger adult population than many counties. About 47.7% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher, above the statewide figure of 34.7%. The county is mostly White by population, though Hispanic, Asian, Black and multiracial residents are also part of the local mix.

Key Demographics for Watauga County NC

Watauga County School Districts

Watauga County is served by 1 public school district with 4,658 students enrolled in 2024. Several larger districts account for a substantial share of students across the county map area. Those three districts account for about 100% of public school enrollment in the map area. Total enrollment has stayed fairly steady in recent years, based on district totals from 2017 to 2024.

Largest School Districts by Enrollment in Watauga County NC

Watauga County school district enrollment and trends per most recent NCES reporting data.

Watauga County Housing & Real Estate

Watauga County has a median home value of $321,500 and a median gross rent of $1,066. About 61% of occupied homes in the county are owner-occupied, so the local housing market leans heavily toward ownership. Home values run above the North Carolina median, while rents come in below the state average. In March 2026, the median listing price was $629,500 and homes spent about 84 days on the market.

Businesses in Watauga County, NC

Watauga County has 3,125 business listings across 561 categories. The largest categories in Watauga County business listings are Churches & Religious Organizations (69, 2.2%), Parks & Recreation (56, 1.8%), and College University (51, 1.6%). The full Watauga County business listings dataset includes names, categories, addresses and contact details where available. Watauga County packages also include U.S. Census County Business Patterns data with establishment counts, employment and payroll by industry sector.

Top Business Categories in Watauga County, NC

Watauga County Business Listings

Watauga County business listings sourced from Overture Maps. Includes locations with a high level of confidence.

Watauga County Basemaps

Watauga County map and data packages include a set of useful basemaps to help you get started quickly. These include a custom light grey canvas, USGS topo, imagery and other reference layers that make it easier to build clear, meaningful county maps using the included GIS layers, your own data or both. Pre-rendered map tiles for the light grey basemap are included so you can use them offline or host them on your own CDN.

Preview a Live Package Demo

See exactly what is included in a county data package. Inspect how files are organized, the interactive data explorer and how maps and analytics are laid out. The demo loads a real sample package from North Carolina — explore the full structure before you buy.