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.
Boone, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the town.
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.
Boone, even though it is a small town, has many people who use public transportation every day to get to and from work. This is a great benefit for people in the, town who have a need for low-cost 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.
