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Boone, NC

A mountain college town where student enrollment shapes the electorate

Home to Appalachian State University, Boone's Watauga County has trended more competitive in recent cycles as student voter registration has grown, sitting against an otherwise rural, Republican-leaning western North Carolina backdrop.

Presidential margin · 2024
Data unavailable for this race.
Race data unavailable
Geography
Race data unavailable
No current race for this office.
2024FIPS 14380
Population195K
Median ageU.S. 38.9y
29.9y▼ 9.0
Bachelor's+U.S. 35%
39.4%▲ 4.4
  • White92.3%
  • Hispanic3.4%
  • Two or more2.8%
  • Black1.5%
  • Other0.9%
  • Asian0.8%
Trajectory · 2008–2024
Boone, NCBaseline
Reagan → Bush IIObama → TrumpR+100D+102020flip · 2012flip · 2016D+15R+10
Cycle2024
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Similarity Explorer

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Reads like Mount Pleasant, MI, Laramie, WY, and Athens, OH.
8 visible matches
Constituent Geography

Counties in Boone, NC

2024 presidential results across the counties that make up this geography.
Sort:
CountyPop.MarginDemRepTotalShare
Watauga55K
D+6.0
17,22515,25433,09525.0%
Watauga53K
D+6.0
17,22515,25433,09525.0%
Watauga45K
D+6.0
17,22515,25433,09525.0%
Watauga43K
D+6.0
17,22515,25433,09525.0%
4 countiesTotal votes: 132,380
Historian Query

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Explore Boone, NC's political evolution with the Historian
Race & Ancestry

Who Lives Here

A race-first Census view with ancestry expansion where source coverage is strong enough to support detail.
Boone, NCCensus ACS 2024Ancestry detail available
Census race profile
Major Census race and ethnicity groups shown as a share of total population.
Expand rows for ancestry detail
White (Non-Hispanic) 92.3%Hispanic 3.4%Multiracial 1.7%Black 1.5%Asian 0.8%
GroupBoone, NCNational
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13)
92.3%57.4%
▶Hispanic / Latino(17)
3.4%19.3%
Multiracial / Other
1.7%4.0%
▶Black / African American(7)
1.5%12.2%
▶Asian(6)
0.8%6.0%
▶Native American / Alaska Native(2)
0.3%0.9%
▶Middle Eastern / North African(4)
0.2%0.9%
Method notes

Census treats race and Hispanic/Latino origin as separate questions. Race categories other than Hispanic reflect total populations (small Hispanic overlap in Black, Asian, AIAN, NHPI). “Multiracial / Other” is derived as a non-overlapping remainder.

Click rows to expand ancestry detail. Ancestry from ACS B04006, B03001, B02020, B02016. Totals may differ from race — individuals can report multiple ancestries.

Black / African American (estimated remainder) is derived as Black population share minus reported Sub-Saharan African and West Indian ancestry. It is shown as an estimated ancestry detail, not a standalone Census ancestry category.

MENA estimated from ancestry reporting — Census does not have a separate MENA race category. Not shown in bar (overlaps with other race groups).

Religious Adherents

Population that are religious adherents:
42.1%(23.2K people)
U.S. Religion Census 2020
Browse all religions

Catholic-Evangelical edge: -55.6pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.

Ecological pattern — how to read this

Reflects patterns in counties where this religious tradition concentrates — not a claim about individual voters.

Values are derived by joining Religion Census 2020 (U.S. Religion Data Archive) with certified election results at the county level. That means we know what counties with more or fewer of this group did — not how any individual voted.

This is known as ecological inference. It is a valid way to surface geographic correlation but must not be read as a personal-vote claim about anyone in the group.

Tradition% Pop% AdherentsUS PopUS Adherents
Evangelical Protestant
25.0%59.5%——
Mainline Protestant
10.6%25.2%——
Catholic
3.5%8.4%——
Other
1.5%3.6%——
Black Protestant
1.3%3.0%——
LDS (Mormon)
0.9%2.1%——
Non-religiousPopulation
57.9%———
Click the chevron to expand denominations. Tradition and denomination rows label both share of total population and share of all religious adherents. Non-religious is shown as a share of total population only.
Explore Evangelical Protestant adherence nationally

Who lives in the Boone, NC metro area? 195,199 residents across 4 counties.

Demographic Comparison

Demographics

Read this geography's profile in three layers: local, state (where available), and national baseline.
Export CSVPro
Boone, NC vs National195K residents

39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — 6pp above the national average. Places with similar education levels vote D+8 on average nationally.

Population & electorate

Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.

Total population
Local vs state vs U.S.
195K
local
195KNational 334.9M
Share of U.S. population
Local vs state vs U.S.
0.06%
local
0.06%National 100%
Voting-age population
Local vs state vs U.S.
42.1%
local
42.1%National 75.7%
Economic profile

Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.

Median household income
Local vs state vs U.S.
$39,996
local
$39,996National $83,960
Poverty rate
Local vs state vs U.S.
24.7%
local
24.7%National 12.5%
College degree
Local vs state vs U.S.
39.4%
local
39.4%National 35.6%
Homeownership
Local vs state vs U.S.
60.0%
local
60.0%National 65.2%
Community profile

Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.

Median age
Local vs state vs U.S.
29.9 yrs
local
29.9 yrsNational 39.1 yrs
Age 18–29
Local vs state vs U.S.
28.8%
local
28.8%National 15.7%
Age 65+
Local vs state vs U.S.
11.4%
local
11.4%National 17.0%
Foreign born
Local vs state vs U.S.
2.7%
local
2.7%National 14.1%
Non-English at home
Local vs state vs U.S.
4.8%
local
4.8%National 22.2%
English only
Local vs state vs U.S.
95.2%
local
95.2%National 77.8%
Voter Turnout

Turnout in Boone, NC

Turnout % = votes cast ÷ citizen voting-age population (CVAP). Source: CVAP Special Tab 2020-2024.
2024 Turnout
70.0%
vs Previous
+1.9pp
Eligible Non-Voters
14K · 30.0%
Citizen VAP
47,288
History
1988–2024
Ticket-Splitting

Do voters in Boone, NC split their tickets?

Divergence between offices in the same election reveals persuadable voters.
ConsistencyModerate splitting (66/100)
2024 Office Comparisons
OfficesMargin AMargin BSplit
President vs GovernorD+6.0D+22.616.7pp
Average divergence across office pairs: 7.5pp
Containing Geography

Located In

Boone, NC sits inside these higher-level geographies.
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