County Maps US

Ashe County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 73 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37009

Within North Carolina
Ashe County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Jefferson, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
27,514
+929 (+3.5%) since 2020
Land area
426.3
square miles. A further 0.7% of the total area is water
Population density
64.5
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Jefferson
Seat of county government.
Established
1799
226 years ago
Largest city
Jefferson town
Population 1,680.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Ashe County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Ashe County, North Carolina from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 706 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Ashe County ranks

Position among the 100 counties of North Carolina, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn North CarolinaNationally
Population27,51473rd of 1001,528th of 3,144
Land area426.3 sq mi57th of 1002,382nd of 3,144
Population density64.5 per sq mi73rd of 1001,250th of 3,144
Median household income$56,86667th of 1002,341st of 3,143

Full data for Ashe County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population27,514Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202026,585Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?26,584Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area426.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area3.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area429.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?64.5 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$56,866American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$243,100American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age49.8American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households12,201American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units17,218American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-191
200 births, 391 deaths
Net migration
+330
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 5 areas bordering Ashe County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Wilkes CountyNorth Carolina24 mi66,233
Johnson CountyTennessee19 mi18,718
Alleghany CountyNorth Carolina19 mi11,479
Watauga CountyNorth Carolina19 mi54,786
Grayson CountyVirginia18 mi15,230

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 100 counties of North Carolina

Open the interactive North Carolina county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.