27,266 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.5% since 2020)
426 square miles of land · 64 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
11 active community water systems list Ashe County in the area they serve, reporting 5,241 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| JEFFERSON, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0105015 | 1,740 served |
| WEST JEFFERSON, TOWN OF groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · NC0105010 | 1,321 served |
| JEFFERSON LANDING groundwater · private · NC0105108 | 653 served |
| FLEETWOOD FALLS WATER SYSTEM groundwater · private · NC0105103 | 519 served |
| BLUE RIDGE MANOR-NIKANOR SECT groundwater · private · NC0105104 | 320 served |
| LANSING, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · NC0105020 | 228 served |
| FAIRWAY RIDGE WATER ASSOC INC groundwater · private · NC0105432 | 173 served |
| BUFFALO MEADOWS S/D groundwater · private · NC0105102 | 120 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 82 people were held in Ashe County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 514 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 128.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Ashe County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $42.5 million — $39.9 million to run schools, about $14,547 per student, plus $2.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.8 million local (mostly property tax), $26.5 million state, $8.3 million federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Ashe County about $17.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
242 bridges in Ashe County: 87 in good condition, 102 fair, and 53 poor (21.9%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| NC88 194 over BUFFALO CREEK · built 1949 | 6,800 vehicles a day |
| NC88 over BUFFALO CREEK · built 1949 | 6,500 vehicles a day |
| NC194 over BIG HORSE CREEK · built 1983 | 3,800 vehicles a day |
| NC88 over ROAN CREEK · built 1960 | 2,500 vehicles a day |
| BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY over LAUREL FORK · built 1939 | 2,300 vehicles a day |
| NC194 over OLD FIELD BRANCH · built 1978 | 2,200 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $18 million of work in Ashe County in fiscal 2025, about $678 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-09. Early voting: 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-31. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-20. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: NC State Board of Elections: upcoming election · NC State Board of Elections: vote in person · NC State Board of Elections: voter ID
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Ashe County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Ashe County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Watauga County (19 mi) · Johnson County, TN (20 mi) · Alleghany County (21 mi) · Grayson County, VA (21 mi) · Wilkes County (25 mi) · Smyth County, VA (28 mi).