West.

• Position: BY THE NUMBERS - Statistical table

POPULATION (000s) COUNTY 1986 1996 2006 Alleghany 9.5 10.0 11.0 Ashe 22.4 23.6 25.8 Avery 14.7 15.5 18.2 Buncombe 168.4 196.3 221.3 Burke 74.6 84.6 88.7 Caldwell 69.7 74.7 79.3 Cherokee 19.7 22.6 26.7 Clay 7.2 8.0 10.1 Graham 7.3 7.8 8.1 Haywood 47.8 51.5 56.7 Henderson 65.8 81.1 100.1 Jackson 26.3 30.9 36.3 Macon 22.6 27.5 33.1 Madison 17.1 18.5 20.4 McDowell 35.6 39.1 43.6 Mitchell 14.3 15.2 15.9 Polk 14.0 16.9 19.1 Rutherford 55.8 60.6 63.2 Swain 11.0 12.1 13.9 Transylvania 25.4 28.0 30.4 Watauga 35.5 41.3 43.4 Wilkes 59.6 63.6 66.9 Yancey 15.5 16.7 18.4 REGION 839.7 946.2 1,050.6 NORTH CAROLINA 6,323.2 7,490.8 8,860.3 Source: N.C. Office of Budget and Management PER CAPITA INCOME (000s) COUNTY 1985 1995 2005 Alleghany $9.4 $19.1 $26.2 Ashe 9.9 18.1 25.9 Avery 9.6 19.2 25.1 Buncombe 12.7 21.5 30.2 Burke 11.4 18.5 25.9 Caldwell 11.0 18.3 26.8 Cherokee 8.8 15.0 21.8 Clay 9.3 15.8 23.2 Graham 8.2 14.3 23.8 Haywood 11.7 18.8 26.7 Henderson 13.4 22.4 30.6 Jackson 9.7 16.0 25.5 Macon 10.8 17.8 25.8 Madison 9.1 16.2 22.9 McDowell 9.8 17.7 23.1 Mitchell 10.2 15.9 22.7 Polk 14.1 24.7 36.5 Rutherford 10.4 17.6 24.5 Swain 8.1 13.7 22.6 Transylvania 12.2 20.2 28.5 Watauga 9.6 17.6 28.3 Wilkes 11.1 18.9 29.3 Yancey 8.9 15.1 21.2 REGION 11.2 19.1 27.3 NORTH CAROLINA 12.7 21.3 31.0 Source: N.C. Office of Budget...