Watauga County, North Carolina: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted D+6%. Republican peak: R+29 in 1984.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+6MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 55,1232024 5-year
- Median household income
- $51,6932024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+24 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+29 in 1984MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Forsyth County, NC · similarity 0.86
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Watauga CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Watauga County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 17,225 | 15,254 | 33,095 | ||
| D | 17,122 | 14,451 | 32,220 | ||
| D | 14,138 | 13,697 | 29,985 | ||
| R | 13,002 | 13,861 | 27,674 | ||
| D | 14,558 | 13,344 | 28,372 | ||
| R | 11,232 | 12,659 | 24,050 | ||
| D | 10,438 | 7,959 | 18,723 | ||
| R | 7,349 | 8,146 | 17,222 | ||
| D | 8,262 | 7,899 | 19,225 | ||
| R | 6,048 | 8,662 | 14,785 | ||
| R | 5,163 | 9,370 | 14,579 | ||
| R | 5,022 | 6,149 | 11,958 | ||
| R | 5,358 | 5,400 | 10,817 | ||
| R | 3,451 | 6,017 | 9,573 | ||
| R | 2,952 | 5,081 | 9,093 | ||
| D | 4,031 | 3,932 | 7,963 | ||
| R | 3,440 | 5,020 | 8,460 | ||
| R | 3,223 | 4,636 | 7,859 | ||
| R | 3,600 | 4,527 | 8,127 | ||
| R | 3,379 | 3,851 | 7,400 | ||
| R | 3,214 | 3,954 | 7,168 | ||
| R | 3,615 | 3,739 | 7,354 | ||
| D | 3,880 | 3,409 | 7,289 | ||
| D | 3,419 | 3,166 | 6,606 | ||
| R | 2,591 | 3,159 | 5,750 | ||
| R | 2,365 | 2,665 | 5,038 | ||
| R | 1,721 | 2,631 | 4,352 | ||
| R | 1,141 | 1,352 | 2,493 | ||
| D | 933 | 420 | 2,174 | ||
| R | 962 | 1,313 | 2,275 | ||
| R | 773 | 1,143 | 1,947 | ||
| R | 923 | 1,439 | 2,364 | ||
| R | 1,063 | 1,166 | 2,240 | ||
| D | 940 | 839 | 1,884 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
20.2%
German
15.0%
Irish
13.9%
American
10.1%
Scottish
4.7%
Italian
4.4%
Polish
2.0%
African American
1.6%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 31.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$51,693
Watauga County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Watauga County$51,693
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
25.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.4%
Working age (18–64)29.1%
Seniors (65+)8.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.1%
speak English only
Spanish4.0%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Appalachian State University, Watauga sits deep in the Blue Ridge yet voted Democratic in 2024 by six points — a margin driven largely by student enrollment in a region where most surrounding counties lean heavily Republican.
The Republican margin in Watauga County reached its widest at twenty-nine points in 1984. The margin in 2024 was six points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $51,693, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 55,123 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Forsyth County and New Hanover County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Watauga County, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/37189/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Carolina
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Frequently asked questions
How did Watauga County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Watauga County, North Carolina voted Democratic by 6.0 points (D+6), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 33,095 votes cast, 17,225 went Democratic and 15,254 went Republican.
What is Watauga County, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Watauga County, North Carolina as a "Republican loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 11 times, Republican 23 times, and other 0 times.
When did Watauga County, North Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Watauga County, North Carolina voted Republican was 2012.
How many people live in Watauga County, North Carolina?
Watauga County, North Carolina has a population of 55,123 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Watauga County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Watauga County, North Carolina is $51,693 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Watauga County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Watauga County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.