[4] To make up for the loss in population, the 11th absorbed some strongly Republican territory in the Foothills which had previously been in the 10th.

Due to the district becoming much more conservative, three-term Democratic incumbent Heath Shuler did not run for reelection in 2012, and was succeeded by Republican Mark Meadows.

In 2019, a panel of North Carolina judges ruled that the existing map was a partisan gerrymander, and ordered new congressional districts to be drawn ahead of the 2020 election.

[6][7] The district included the western part of Rutherford County and the entirety of Avery, Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey Counties.

[6][7] On February 23, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court approved a new map which removed Avery and Mitchell Counties from the district.