county

Cherokee County, NC

Demographic and economic profile of Cherokee County, NC, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Cherokee County's small workforce of roughly 29,000 residents skews older, with a median age of 53.5 and a labor force participation rate of just 49.9%, limiting the available labor pool. Workers earn a median of $33,922 against a median household income of $53,628, with 24.2% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 91.4% having completed high school. Housing costs are low—median home value of $208,700 and median gross rent of $800/month—and the county posted 5.5% population growth over five years, though a 5.4% unemployment rate and 14.6% poverty rate reflect ongoing economic pressure.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

29,197

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$53,628

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

53.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+5.5% since 2018

Cherokee County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone26,739 (90.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races811 (2.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race772 (2.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone527 (1.8%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone347 (1.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone210 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish572
  2. 2.Other Indo-European118
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island54
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic27
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)14

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

16.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

52.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

31.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,522

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$29,627

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,738
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)2,082
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,407
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,263
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)1,260

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,637
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations3,094
  3. 3.Service Occupations2,184
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,796
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,325

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Retail Trade (LQ 1.63×)2,095
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.49×)1,221
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.31×)1,363
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.28×)241
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.20×)667

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$208,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$800/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

83.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,692 (15.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,541 (13.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,500 (13.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999975 (8.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999713 (6.4%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999634 (5.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

49.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,922

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone9,319 (79.5%)
  • Worked At Home1,262 (10.8%)
  • Carpooled756 (6.4%)
  • Walked248 (2.1%)
  • Other136 (1.2%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.