Jackson Henderson Appalachian State University Quantitative Methods Fall 2012 All Cartography: Jackson Henderson Data: US Census Bureau, 2010

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.

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.

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.

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. # of Counties

*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.

These 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.

“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. Civilian Labor ForceUnadjusted Labor Force531,028 Employed485,296 Unemployed45,732 Unemployment Rate(%)8.6 Industry Unadjusted Employment Total3, Mining and Logging5.4 Construction174.8 Manufacturing439.5 Trade, Transportation, and Utilities738 Information69.3 Financial Activities203.6 Professional and Business Services530.1 Education and Health Services557.9 Leisure and Hospitality Services411.7 Other Services156.5 Government711.5 Rank Company Name Industry Employment Range 1 Memorial Mission Hospital Inc Education & Health Services 1, Buncombe County Board Of Education Education & Health Services 1, Ingles Markets Inc Trade, Transportation & Utilities 1,000+ Total Number of Employers in Industry Rank Company Name Industry Employment Range 1 State Of Nc Dept Of Health & Human Public Administration 1, Burke County Public Schools Education & Health Services 1, Grace Hospital Inc Education & Health Services Asheville MSA Burke County Top Employers & Industry Area Asheville MSA counties and Burke county were researched because they have consistently been top ranked in population and employment.

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. Buncombe Henderson Haywood Burke Madison 321 I-40 I-26

NCIncome.sav SPSS: North Carolina Income Statistics Internet: North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Employment Security ESRI Arc Map: Demographics, State and County Data ArcMap