Rutherford County

Rutherford County, North Carolina

At a Glance

Population	64,444
County Seat	Rutherford County Courthouse
State FIPS	37
County FIPS	161
Num Towns	11
Census-Designated Places	3
Total Town Population	19,657
Census Source	Census ACS 5-Year 2022

People & Demographics

Population (official)	64,680
Median Age	44.9
Veterans	4,176
Housing Units	32,640
Uninsured	734
Net Migration (recent)	1,811
Growing	Yes

Economy & Employment

Total Establishments	1,272
Total Employees	15,970
Avg Annual Pay	$48,125
Median Household Income	$50,512
Poverty Rate	18.4%
Unemployment Rate	6.0%
Avg AGI per Return (IRS)	$57,859
Federal Spending FY2024	$469,598,147
Federal Spending Per Capita	$7,287

Housing & Cost of Living

Median Home Value	$158,200
Median Rent	$729
FMR Studio	$803
FMR 1BR	$807
FMR 2BR	$930
FMR 3BR	$1,255
FMR 4BR	$1,442

Health & Safety

Hospitals	11
EMS Stations	33
Fire Stations	33
Police Stations	33
Adult Smoking	19.8%
Adult Obesity	37.4%
Overdose Deaths Rate/100k	49.6
Air Quality Good Days	N/A

Infrastructure

Electricity Price (¢/kWh)	14.13
Electric Customers	5067762
Towns with Broadband Data	11
Towns with 90%+ Coverage	11

Community

Churches	46
Libraries	11
Historic Places (NRHP)	28
Homeless Population	N/A
Schools	95
SNAP Stores	69
Bank Branches	10

Agriculture

Total Farms	559
Land in Farms (acres)	63,632
Avg Farm Size (acres)	113.8
Year	2,022

Recent Federal Disaster Declarations (15)

Type	Title	Date
EM	SEVERE WINTER STORM	2026-01-24
DR	TROPICAL STORM HELENE	2024-09-28
EM	HURRICANE HELENE	2024-09-26
EM	HURRICANE IAN	2022-10-01
EM	HURRICANE ISAIAS	2020-08-02
DR	SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING	2020-05-08
DR	COVID-19 PANDEMIC	2020-03-25
EM	COVID-19	2020-03-13
EM	HURRICANE DORIAN	2019-09-03
EM	HURRICANE FLORENCE	2018-09-10

Detailed Topics

Communities in Rutherford County

Forest City — pop 7,377
Spindale — pop 4,225
Rutherfordton — pop 3,640
Lake Lure — pop 1,365
Ellenboro — pop 723
Caroleen — pop 560
Cliffside — pop 530
Henrietta — pop 395
Bostic — pop 355
Ruth — pop 347
Chimney Rock Village — pop 140

Data sources: Census ACS, BLS QCEW, IRS SOI, USAspending.gov, County Health Rankings, EPA AQI, HUD FMR, NCES, FEMA, National Register of Historic Places, CDC, EIA.