17,811 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.0% since 2020)
247 square miles of land · 72 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.
18 active community water systems list Avery County in the area they serve, reporting 11,732 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| SUGAR MOUNTAIN UTILITY groundwater · private · NC0106107 | 3,226 served |
| LINVILLE LAND HARBOR groundwater · private · NC0106104 | 2,280 served |
| BANNER ELK, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · NC0106015 | 1,164 served |
| NEWLAND, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · NC0106020 | 999 served |
| ELK RIVER CLUB DEVELOPMENT groundwater · private · NC0106118 | 732 served |
| LINVILLE RIDGE groundwater · private · NC0106117 | 710 served |
| LINVILLE RESORTS INC groundwater · private · NC0106105 | 499 served |
| ELK PARK, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · NC0106025 | 495 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 35 people were held in Avery County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 310 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 48.
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 Avery County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $31.4 million — $29.5 million to run schools, about $15,514 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.7 million local (mostly property tax), $17.9 million state, $6.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $10.5 million.
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 Avery County about $11.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
108 bridges in Avery County: 30 in good condition, 67 fair, and 11 poor (10.2%). “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.
| NC184 over SHAWNEEHAW CREEK · built 1952 | 7,600 vehicles a day |
| US221BYP NC181 over GRANDMOTHER CREEK · built 1990 | 6,400 vehicles a day |
| US221 over LINVILLE RIVER · built 1941 | 5,300 vehicles a day |
| BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY over STREAM · built 1950 | 2,000 vehicles a day |
| SR1138 over SQUIRREL CREEK · built 1967 | 1,000 vehicles a day |
| SR1342 over ELK RIVER · built 1929 | 950 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $5.5 million of work in Avery County in fiscal 2025, about $307 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 Avery 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 Avery County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Mitchell County (14 mi) · Watauga County (16 mi) · Carter County, TN (19 mi) · Caldwell County (24 mi) · Yancey County (25 mi) · Burke County (25 mi).