| ZIP Codes: | 3 ZIP Codes (2 Standard, 1 PO Box, 0 Unique) [See All] |
| Area Code: | 828 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (GMT -05:00) |
| Local Time: | 2:12:58 PM |
| Population: | 16,910 [See All] |
| FIPS: | 37121 |
| Land Area: | 196 sq mi |
| Water Area: | 0 sq mi |
| Coordinates: | 35.9609, -82.1094 |
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16,910 residents live across 3 ZIPs covering 196 sq mi, served by 3 distinct USPS-recognized cities.
Population moved from 16,914 to 16,910 from 2014 to 2024 — a 0.0% change. 1 ZIPs gained residents, 1 lost.
The county's wealthiest ZIP 28777 (Spruce Pine, $63,378 median) and poorest ZIP 28705 (Bakersville, $54,858) are 10.9 miles apart — a 1.2× income gap across local geography.
Median home values vary 1.0× across this county — from $220,600 in 28705 (Bakersville) to $228,400 in 28777 (Spruce Pine).
Density varies 3× across the county — from 54 people/sq mi in 28705 (Bakersville) to 142 in 28777 (Spruce Pine).
Educational attainment ranges from 19.7% bachelor's+ in 28777 (Spruce Pine) to 26.1% in 28705 (Bakersville) — the breadth of educational profiles across the area.
Within North Carolina, this is the #83 most populous of 100 counties and ranks #62 for median household income .
Weighted by population, the typical household earns about $59,986 across the county — reflecting what a typical resident sees, not a simple ZIP average.
22.0% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher (2,851 of 12,949 reporting).
2 Standard delivery, 1 PO Box only, 0 single-entity Unique ZIPs serve this county.
One ZIP holds the majority of this county's population — a sign of a county built around a single city or town.