Economy & Jobs — Watauga County, North Carolina
Employment
| Total Establishments | 1,731 |
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| Total Employees | 20,209 |
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| Avg Annual Employment | 25,106 |
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| Avg Annual Pay | $48,024 |
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| Total Annual Wages | $1,205,682,774 |
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| Annual Payroll (thousands) | $832,388 |
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| Unemployment Rate | 9.3% |
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Income
| Median Household Income | $50,034 |
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| Poverty Rate | 24.9% |
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| IRS Returns | 20,480 |
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| Total AGI (thousands) | $1,670,514 |
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| Average AGI per Return | $81,568 |
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Federal Spending
| Total FY2024 | $324,544,898 |
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| Per Capita | $6,001 |
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| Population Basis | 54,086 |
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Agriculture
| Total Farms | 22 |
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| Land in Farms (acres) | 29,402 |
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| Avg Farm Size (acres) | 1,336 |
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| Year | 2,022 |
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Dining & Food Establishments
| Full-service Restaurants | 82 |
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| Fast Food | 38 |
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| Bars | 3 |
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| Coffee & Snacks | 16 |
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Data provenance: aggregated from town-level sources, county.json. Rebuilt 2026-04-13T15:43:29.672030+00:00; aggregated 2026-04-13T16:08:24.793816+00:00.
