Home › Counties › Watauga County, NC
The median home value in Watauga County, NC is $505,994 as of 2026-08-31, up 0.96% from a year earlier.
Median Home Value
$505,994
Year-over-Year
+0.96%
National Rank
#194 of 3071
Watauga County ranks 4th out of 100 counties in NC by median home price, and is +115.3% above the U.S. national median of $235,072. Within NC, the typical county has a median home value of $273,108, making Watauga County +85.3% above the NC state median.
The typical home value decreased by 1.6%, from $514,293 in May 2026 to $505,994 in Aug 2026.
Monthly Zillow Home Value Index snapshots retained by HomePriceMap. A short history is shown now and grows automatically as each new monthly release arrives.
| Month | Typical home value | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | $514,293 | +0.0% |
| Jun 2026 | $516,980 | +0.1% |
| Jul 2026 | $516,079 | +0.5% |
| Aug 2026 | $505,994 | +1.0% |
Households here earn a median of $51,693 a year against a typical home value of $505,994 — a price-to-income ratio of 9.8×, past the 5× level generally described as severely unaffordable. That makes it one of the least affordable counties in the country relative to local wages. (How this is calculated.)
Reporting agencies in Watauga County recorded a violent crime rate of 91 per 100,000 residents in 2024 — lower than most counties nationally. Property crime runs at 971 per 100,000.
Based on 4 reporting cities covering 23,182 residents (FBI UCR data — what this covers).
The median home value in Watauga County is $505,994. That's up 0.96% from a year earlier. That is about 115.3% above the U.S. national county median of $235,072, and makes Watauga County the 4th most expensive of 100 counties in North Carolina.
Median household income here is $51,693, so a typical home costs about 9.8× annual household earnings — expensive compared with other U.S. counties.
Reporting police departments in Watauga County recorded 91 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. That figure covers 23,182 residents across 4 reporting cities, so it reflects the county's incorporated areas rather than every community within its borders.
Dare County · Chatham County · Currituck County · Orange County · Wake County · Carteret County · Transylvania County