Buncombe County, North Carolina

Buncombe County is a county in North Carolina. The population of the county is 238,318.

 Named for
 County seat
 Population
 Habitat
 Cong. Districts
 County Guildmaster
 Time Zone

## Major roads

Interstate 26

Interstate 40

Interstate 240

US Route 19

US Route 19 Business

US Route 23

US Route 23 Business

US Route 25

US Route 25A

US Route 70

US Route 74

US Route 74A

North Carolina Highway 9

North Carolina Highway 63

North Carolina Highway 81

North Carolina Highway 112

North Carolina Highway 146

North Carolina Highway 151

North Carolina Highway 191

North Carolina Highway 197

North Carolina Highway 251

North Carolina Highway 280

North Carolina Highway 694

Blue Ridge Parkway

## Geography

### Adjacent counties

McDowell County (east)

Madison County (north)

Yancey County (northeast)

Henderson County (south)

Rutherford County (southeast)

Transylvania County (southwest)

Haywood County (west)

## Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the county is:

84.86% White (202,236)

6.19% Black or African American (14,751)

6.17% Hispanic or Latino (14,704)

2.78% Other (6,627)

12.7% (30,266) of Buncombe County residents live below the poverty line.

## Theft rate statistics

Although still pretty safe, Buncombe County has the highest rates of Pokemon theft and murder of any county in Western North Carolina, mainly in Asheville. The county reported 39 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 2.65 murders a year.

## Communities

### Towns

Biltmore Forest - 1,343

Black Mountain - 7,848

Montreat - 723

Weaverville - 3,120

Woodfin - 6,123

### CDPs

Avery Creek - 1,950

Bent Creek - 1,287

Fairview - 2,678

Royal Pines - 4,272

Swannanoa - 4,576

### Unincorporated communities

Alexander

Arden

Barnardsville

Beaverdam

Candler

Enka

Flat Creek

Forks of Ivy

Jupiter

Leicester

Oak Park

Ridgecrest

Sandymush

Skyland

Stocksville

Woodside Hills

## Climate

 Average yearly snowfall
 Average yearly sunny days
 Severe storm risk
 Tornado risk
 Blizzard risk

## Fun facts

* Buncombe had long been a bellwether county in presidential elections having voted for the winning candidate in every election from 1928 to 2012, except for that of 1960. Since 2008, the county has trended strongly toward the Democratic Party. It swung from a 0.6 point win for George W. Bush to a 14-point win for Barack Obama, and has gone Democratic by double-digit margins at every election since then. This includes 2016, when it voted for Hillary Clinton despite Donald Trump's upset in winning the electoral college but losing the popular vote, losing its bellwether status. It is the only Democratic bastion in western North Carolina.
* Montreat is best known for Montreat Conference Center, Montreat College, and for having been the home of the evangelist Billy Graham (1918-2018) and his wife Ruth Bell.
* The historic Biltmore mansion is located west of Biltmore Forest.
* Portions of Biltmore Forest were devastated by North Carolina's only EF5 tornado to date on April 14th, 2008, which would go on to devastate Swannanoa.
* Skyland is the location of Biltmore Park Town Square.
* Arden serves as a little retail suburb of Asheville, home to the Southridge Shopping Center, with Lowe's and a Target, along with an Aldi, Walmart, Nintendo World, a few hotels, and some fast food and chain restaurants.
* A bit of Asheville's industry is located north of Avery Creek.
* In 1820, a U.S. Congressman, whose district included Buncombe County, unintentionally contributed a word to the English language. In the Sixteenth Congress, after lengthy debate on the Missouri Compromise, members of the House called for an immediate vote on that important question. Instead, Felix Walker rose to address his colleagues, insisting that his constituents expected him to make a speech "for Buncombe." It was later remarked that Walker's untimely and irrelevant oration was not just for Buncombe—it "was Buncombe." Thus, buncombe, afterwards spelled bunkum and then shortened to bunk, became a term for empty, nonsensical talk. This, in turn, is the etymology of the verb debunk.