Boone is a medium-sized town located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 19,756 people and eight associated neighborhoods, Boone is the 52nd largest community in North Carolina. Boone real estate is some of the most expensive in North Carolina, although Boone house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.Boone is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 90.15% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Boone is a town of service providers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Boone who work in sales jobs (20.69%), food service (17.23%), and teaching (14.21%). One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 8.90% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Boone is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Boone area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Boone maintain a good economy. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Boone spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 15.61 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be. Despite the fact that it is a small town, Boone has quite a few people who take public transportation – mostly the bus - for their daily commute to work. This helps to fill a real need in the town for affordable transportation.The citizens of Boone are among the most well-educated in the nation: 46.12% of adults in Boone have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Boone in 2022 was $15,722, which is low income relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $62,888 for a family of four. However, Boone contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Boone also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 55.90% of its population below the federal poverty line.Boone is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Boone home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Boone residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Boone include Irish, English, German, European, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Boone is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Vietnamese.
