Watauga County, North Carolina

Watauga County
Watauga County
County
	United States Post Office in Boone
	Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
	North Carolina's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 36°14′N 81°43′W / 36.24°N 81.71°W
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1849
Named for	Watauga River
Seat	Boone
Largest community	Boone
Area
• Total	313.32 sq mi (811.5 km2)
• Land	312.44 sq mi (809.2 km2)
• Water	0.88 sq mi (2.3 km2) 0.28%
Population (2020)
• Total	54,086
• Estimate (2023)	54,748
• Density	173.11/sq mi (66.84/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.wataugacounty.org

Watauga County (/wəˈtɔːɡə/ wuh-TAW-guh)^[1] is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,086.^[2] Its county seat and largest community is Boone.^[3]^[4] The county is in an exceptionally mountainous region, known as the High Country. It is the home of Appalachian State University, which has approximately 21,570 students as of Fall 2024.^[5] Watauga County comprises the Boone, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area.

^ Talk Like A Tarheel, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
^ Cite error: The named reference 2020CensusQuickFacts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "Watauga County | NCpedia". www.ncpedia.org.
^ "App State Facts". Appalachian State University. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.