Ashe County, North Carolina
County seat: Jefferson · Population 27,514 (2025) · 426 sq mi
Ashe County is the 73rd most populous of North Carolina's 100 counties, with 27,514 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Jefferson. It is part of the Northwest Region region, one of the 8 Prosperity Zones of North Carolina. The map shows its 3 cities and towns and the 5 neighboring counties.
Ashe County facts
- County seat
- Jefferson
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 27,514 +3.5% since 2020
- Land area
- 426 sq mi 57th largest of 100
- Water area
- 3 sq mi
- Population density
- 65 per sq mi
- Established
- 1799
- Named after
- Samuel Ashe American politician (1725–1813)
- Largest city
- Jefferson 1,680
- Median household income
- $56,866
- Cities and towns
- 3
- ZIP codes
- 13
- Time zone
- Eastern
- FIPS code
- 37009
Cities and towns in Ashe County
Ashe County has 3 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Ashe County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson (county seat) | Town | 1,680 | |
| West Jefferson | Town | 1,348 | |
| Lansing | Town | 128 |
ZIP codes in Ashe County
13 ZIP codes reach into Ashe County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 28615
- 28617
- 28626
- 28629
- 28631 also Alleghany County
- 28640 also Wilkes County
- 28643
- 28644 also Alleghany and Wilkes counties
- 28672
- 28684 also Watauga County
- 28693
- 28694
- 28698 also Watauga County
Population of Ashe County, 2020–2025
Ashe County grew by 930 people (+3.5%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 1,074 more deaths than births and a net gain of 1,986 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 26,585 |
| 2021 | 26,757 |
| 2022 | 27,047 |
| 2023 | 27,096 |
| 2024 | 27,378 |
| 2025 | 27,514 |
Neighboring counties
- Wilkes County southeast · 66,233 people
- Johnson County, Tennessee west · 18,718 people
- Alleghany County east · 11,479 people
- Watauga County southwest · 54,786 people
- Grayson County, Virginia northeast · 15,230 people
Printable Ashe County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (99 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (78 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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