Watauga County, NC jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Watauga County’s unemployment rate is 3.7%. No WARN layoff notices here in the last 12 months.

Watauga County economy

3.7%
unemployment, Aug 2026
3.7% the month before
28,583
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
54,607
people in Watauga County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$51,367
median household income
Source: Census ACS
40%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Watauga County layoffs

No WARN layoff notices naming Watauga County in the last 12 months are on file. WARN covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

Colleges in Watauga County

Colleges in Watauga County
College	City	Type	Students
Appalachian State University	Boone	Public 4-year	20,000+
Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine	Sugar Grove	Private nonprofit 4-year	Under 1,000

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Watauga County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

High Country Workforce Development Board
Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes, Yancey

NCWorks Career Center- Watauga County
Boone · Comprehensive · 828-278-6460
Mon-Thurs 8:00am-5pm Closed 12pm-1pm ; Fri 8am-12pm

Other North Carolina counties

All of North Carolina

Laid off or looking for work in Watauga County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); WARN notices from North Carolina’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers.