Swain County

Swain County, North Carolina

At a Glance

Population	14,117
County Seat	Swain County Courthouse
State FIPS	37
County FIPS	173
Num Towns	1
Census-Designated Places	1
Total Town Population	1,558
Census Source	Census ACS 5-Year 2022

People & Demographics

Population (official)	14,130
Median Age	41.6
Veterans	695
Housing Units	8,451
Uninsured	761
Net Migration (recent)	548
Growing	Yes

Economy & Employment

Total Establishments	396
Total Employees	3,921
Avg Annual Pay	$46,512
Median Household Income	$52,818
Poverty Rate	19.8%
Unemployment Rate	7.5%
Avg AGI per Return (IRS)	$54,403
Federal Spending FY2024	$171,059,897
Federal Spending Per Capita	$12,117

Housing & Cost of Living

Median Home Value	$178,900
Median Rent	$690
FMR Studio	$757
FMR 1BR	$762
FMR 2BR	$930
FMR 3BR	$1,303
FMR 4BR	$1,398

Health & Safety

Hospitals	2
EMS Stations	3
Fire Stations	3
Police Stations	3
Adult Smoking	22.6%
Adult Obesity	38.5%
Overdose Deaths Rate/100k	57.0
Air Quality Good Days	305

Infrastructure

Electricity Price (¢/kWh)	14.13
Electric Customers	5067762
Towns with Broadband Data	1
Towns with 90%+ Coverage	1

Community

Churches	6
Libraries	1
Historic Places (NRHP)	11
Homeless Population	N/A
Schools	6
SNAP Stores	14
Bank Branches	2

Agriculture

Total Farms	31
Land in Farms (acres)	835
Avg Farm Size (acres)	26.9
Year	2,022

Recent Federal Disaster Declarations (15)

Type	Title	Date
EM	SEVERE WINTER STORM	2026-01-24
FM	SAM DAVIS ROAD FIRE	2025-04-20
FM	ALARKA FIRE	2025-03-26
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

Detailed Topics

Communities in Swain County

Bryson City — pop 1,558

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.