Welcome to Sylva ...
The town of Sylva is located in Jackson County<1> and is the County Seat for Jackson County.
Sylva was established in 1889.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Sylva has a population of 2,722 people<2> (see below for details).
The community of Sylva is 2,070 feet [631 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Sylva lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Sylva is within the boundaries of the (828) area code.
Websites for Sylva ...
Official Website: www.townofsylva.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Sylva had an population of 2,722 people. This is an increase of 5.18% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 11.79% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Sylva had a population of 2,588 people (or 6.43% of the total population of Jackson County). This makes Sylva the county's most populous community.
The population of Sylva represents 0.03% of the total population of North Carolina (which has 9,535,483 people), making it the state's 221st most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 2,588 people, the population of Sylva increased 6.28% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 2,435 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Sylva.
Communities Also Named Sylva ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Sylva - they are located in Arkansas and New York.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sylva.
Communities near Sylva ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Sylva.
- Waynesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waynesville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynesville
- Waynesville is located in Haywood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,557 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waynesville <5>
- Franklin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,121 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <5>
- Hazelwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast) - Bryson City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryson City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryson City
- Bryson City is located in Swain County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,443 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryson City <5>
- Maggie Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maggie Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maggie Valley
- Maggie Valley is located in Haywood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maggie Valley <5>
- Forest Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Forest Hills is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
- Forest Hills has also been known as:
- Forest Hills village
- Village of Forest Hills
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest Hills <5>
- Cullowhee
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullowhee
- Cullowhee is located in Jackson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cullowhee <5>
- Wilmot
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Wilmot is located in Jackson County
- East Laport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Laport have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Laport
- East Laport is located in Jackson County
- Ruby City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Sylva. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Sylva.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Sylva. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sylva.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Sylva. Our list includes 5 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Sylva.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Sylva ...
Looking for more information about Sylva? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Sylva, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Sylva.
Adding Sylva to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Sylva in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Sylva was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Sylva post office opened in 1880.
We also found Sylva in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Sylva.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Sylva: www.townofsylva.org/
The official website for Jackson County: www.jacksonnc.org/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of North Carolina's counties, including Jackson, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Sylva. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Sylva - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |