Waynesville is a town and the county chair of Haywood County, North Carolina. It is the largest town in North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located just about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Asheville in the middle of the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains.

As of the 2010 census, Waynesville had a population of 9,869. The town is located just external the Pisgah National Forest and is near to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Waynesville and Haywood County are ration of the four-county Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area, currently the fifth largest metropolitan Place in North Carolina. It is the third largest town in the MSA at the rear the cities of Asheville and Hendersonville.

Waynesville is located southwest of the middle of Haywood County at 35°29′00″N 82°59′40″W / 35.483226°N 82.994511°W / 35.483226; -82.994511 (35.483226, −82.994511), in the valley of Richland Creek, a tributary of the Pigeon River. U.S. Routes 23 and 74 (the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway) form a bypass along the northwestern side of the town, with entrance from Exits 98 through 102. The highways lead northeast to Asheville and southwest 18 miles (29 km) to Sylva. U.S. Route 276 passes through the center of Waynesville, following (from north to south) Russ Avenue, Walnut Street, Main Street, and Pigeon Street. US-276 leads north 5 miles (8 km) to Dellwood and southeast beyond Wagon Road Gap 39 miles (63 km) to Brevard

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23.1 km), all land.