Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

MaconJackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

McDowell

Graham

Yancey

AveryWatauga

HendersonTransylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Which Appalachian Mountain Counties are Better Employed and

Why?

Western North CarolinaEmployment

Jackson HendersonAppalachian State UniversityQuantitative MethodsFall 2012

All Cartography: Jackson Henderson Data: US Census Bureau, 2010

65632

71219

33121

29811

12968

54033206330

62899

89148

77415

42151

19635

24298

24384

89173

29334

7993

17774

3634842695

17167

8775

10677

18324

15687

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

Buncombe

Haywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery Watauga

Graham

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

67430

73271

13902

57922235069

63969

38012

81180

34465

90059

27557

26861

20995

31327

44846

8040

18941

38405

106932

46678

11244

18082

19435

16015

10853

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

Buncombe

Haywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery Watauga

Graham

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Western North CarolinaPopulation 2010

Western North CarolinaPopulation 2000

Between 2000 and 2010, Western North Carolina saw population increases in all of its 25 counties

Buncombe, Henderson, Rutherford, Burke, Caldwell, Wilkes and Surry remained the most populous – a result of ever-growing cities

*Note that Buncombe county’s population, highest in Western NC, is greater than twice that of Burke county, it’s successor.

Asheville

BrevardHendersonville

Columbus

BoonvilleWilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

MaconJackson

Haywood

CaldwellMadison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Buncombe

Polk

Yancey

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Per-Capital Income by County

Per-Capita Income ($)14,000 - 15,200

15,201 - 16,500

16,501 - 17.000

17,001 - 18,600

18,601 - 21,000

County

All higher income counties located in the southern part of western North Carolina. Each of these counties contain a large town or city – noted in red. Large urban areas such as Asheville and Hendersonville are much higher in population than smaller towns in other parts of the NC Appalachians.

Large towns with larger populations have more businesses and industry – creating a larger number of jobs – especially jobs with higher incomes.

Average Per-Capita Poverty

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

% Population in Poverty9.5 - 10

10 - 12

12 - 14

14 - 16

16 - 20

The statistics show that the majority of poverty in this region of the state is located heavily on the western state boundary, in rural counties with small populations and little urban center.

Municipal Boundary

Average Income: Male vs. Female

There is a significant difference between male in female average income in the counties of this region. These statistics show that there males make, on average, 7,000 dollars more per year than females. Also there is a wider range of incomes for females.

# o

f C

ount

ies

# o

f C

ount

ies

Male and Female Average Income

Pearson’s Correlation

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Average FemaleIncome ($)

18,500 - 19,500

19,500 - 21,000

21,000 - 22,000

22,000 - 24,000

Average Male Income ($)

24,000 - 26,000

26,000 - 28,000

28,000 - 29,500

29,500 - 32,000

*Note different legends for male vs female income maps

.588

Comparing Male and Female Average Income, the Pearson’s Correlation system of calculating bivariate correlation between two variables gives the correlation an r value of .588.

This is fairly high (-1 is lowest, 0 is middle, +1 is highest). .588 is fairly strong; meaning that there is a relatively strong correlation between male and female income in counties.

Significance: males and females have high employment in similar counties.

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Wilkes

Surry

Swain

Ashe

Burke

Macon

Jackson

BuncombeHaywood

Caldwell

Polk

Madison

Clay

Yadkin

Rutherford

Cherokee

Yancey

McDowell

Avery

Graham

Watauga

Henderson

Transylvania

Mitchell

Alleghany

Ethnicity and EmploymentThese maps show counties by each particular ethnic group’s highest employment rate (per-capita).

Caucasian

Native

American

Hispanic

African American

Asian

Hawaiian / Pacific

Islander

Note that Buncombe and Burke counties are consistently high in population of higher earning peoples of all ethnicities.

Especially Caucasian and African American – Western NC’s leading population.

Darker shade of green represent higher percentage of population.

Employment by Type of Job

“Each month the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program surveys about 160,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 400,000 individual worksites, in order to provide detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls.”

- Employment Security Commission Web Page

Advantage West Partnership Economic Region:

The regional economic development partnership serving the western counties of North Carolina.  

http://www.advantagewest.com/

Civilian Labor Force Unadjusted

Labor Force 531,028 Employed 485,296Unemployed 45,732Unemployment Rate(%) 8.6

Industry Unadjusted Employment

Total 3,998.30Mining and Logging 5.4Construction 174.8Manufacturing 439.5Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 738Information 69.3Financial Activities 203.6Professional and Business Services 530.1Education and Health Services 557.9Leisure and Hospitality Services 411.7Other Services 156.5Government 711.5

Rank Company Name Industry Employment

Range

1 Memorial Mission Hospital Inc

Education & Health Services

1,000+

2Buncombe County Board Of Education

Education & Health Services

1,000+

3 Ingles Markets Inc

Trade, Transportation & Utilities

1,000+

Tota

l Num

ber

of E

mpl

oyer

s in

In

dust

ryRank Company

Name Industry Employment Range

1State Of Nc Dept Of Health & Human

Public Administration 1,000+

2Burke County Public Schools

Education & Health Services 1,000+

3 Grace Hospital Inc

Education & Health Services 500-999

Ash

evill

e M

SAB

urke

C

ount

y

Top Employers & Industry Area

Asheville MSA counties and Burke county were researched because they have consistently been top ranked in population and employment.

Findings and Conclusion

It can be determined that the counties of: Buncombe, Burke, Madison, Haywood and Henderson are best employed within the 25 counties of Western NC.

The majority of the population in these areas are employed in Public Administration, Education and Health Services and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities.

These counties (excluding Madison) contain a large urban areas which promote growth of jobs.

Also, all of these counties lie along major interstate routes: I-40, I-26, and Rte. 321 which allow efficient access to these metropolitan areas.

Asheville

Morganton

Waynesville

Hendersonville

Mars Hill

BuncombeHenderson

Haywood

Burke

Madison

321

I-40

I-26

Data Sources

http://esesc23.esc.state.nc.us/d4/

NCIncome.sav

SPSS: North Carolina Income Statistics

Internet:North Carolina Department of CommerceDivision of Employment Security

ESRI Arc Map: Demographics, State and County Data

ArcMap