I just had a cbc done where my wbc was 16 and my abs neutrophil was 11.6. turns out had same results in cbcs going back 6 years. what could be cause?

That is unusual: High WBC is commonly caused by infections/inflammation. But yours is not likely to be due to infection., so it could be a benign variation, as long as it is not increasing. You should keep a watch, get it rechecked once yearly. If it should go up more than 1-2 thousand(>18-20, 000) then a consult with a hematologist would be advisable for long term monitoring as there is a condition, CML which can.