Cherokee County, North Carolina Population 2024

30,459

Cherokee County, North Carolina's estimated 2024 population is 30,459 with a growth rate of 1.67% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Cherokee County, North Carolina is the 71st largest county in North Carolina. The 2010 population was 27,435 and has seen a growth of 11.02% since that time.

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change
Year
Population
Growth
Change
202932,9595001.54%
202832,4595001.56%
202731,9595001.59%
202631,4595001.62%
202530,9595001.64%
202430,4595001.67%
202329,9595001.7%
202229,4592650.91%
202129,1943361.16%
202028,8581500.52%
201928,7082831%
201828,4254251.52%
201728,0001400.5%
201627,8607342.71%
201527,126330.12%
201427,093-46-0.17%
201327,139950.35%
201227,044-141-0.52%
201127,185-250-0.91%
201027,43500%
199020,1701,2376.53%
198018,9332,60315.94%
197016,330-5-0.03%
196016,335-1,959-10.71%
195018,294-519-2.76%
194018,8132,66216.48%
193016,1519095.96%
192015,2421,1067.82%
191014,1362,27619.19%
190011,8601,88418.89%
18909,9761,79421.93%
18808,1821021.26%
18708,080-1,086-11.85%
18609,1662,32834.05%
18506,8383,41199.53%
18403,427-29,532-89.6%
2024 Growth Rate
1.67% (500)
County Website
Cherokee County
2020 Population
28,858
Area
456 mi²
Density
67 people/mi²
Growth Since 2020
5.55% (1,601)
Founded
1839

Population by Race

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White26,63391.22%
Two or more races1,2264.2%
Native American4701.61%
Black or African American4491.54%
Other race2580.88%
Asian1560.53%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander50.02%

White

Two or more races

Native American

Black or African American

Other race

Asian

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Cherokee County, North Carolina Population by Race

Cherokee County, North Carolina Population Pyramid 2024

Cherokee County, North Carolina Median Age

53.3

Total

52.1

Male

54.2

Female

Cherokee County, North Carolina Adults

There are 24,498 adults, (9,128 of whom are seniors) in Cherokee County, North Carolina.

Cherokee County, North Carolina Age Dependency

90

Age Dependency Ratio

59.4

Old Age Dependency Ratio

30.6

Child Dependency Ratio

Cherokee County, North Carolina Sex Ratio

Female14,80050.69%
Male14,39749.31%

Cherokee County, North Carolina Population by Age

Cherokee County, North Carolina Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All13,0422.2183.616.4
Married6,7102.690.49.6
Non Family4,6201.275.824.2
Female1,3603.4881.518.5
Male3523.0366.233.8

2.69

Average Family Size

2.21

Average Household Size

83.6%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Cherokee County, North Carolina Households and Families

Male

Female

Education Attained
Count
Percentage
9th to 12th Grade1,4306.28%
Associates Degree2,74512.05%
Bachelors Degree3,66616.09%
Graduate Degree1,8488.11%
High School Graduate7,34932.26%
Less Than 9th Grade5232.3%
Some College5,21822.91%

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Cherokee County, North Carolina Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Cherokee County, North Carolina Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Race
Total
High School
Bachelors
White20,87119,2275,134
2+ Races798631157
Hispanic601447146
Black34431265
Native American2842460
Other Race20517241
Asian12712785
Islander500

The highest rate of high school graduation is among asian people with a rate of 100%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 66.93%.

Cherokee County, North Carolina Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Name
Average
Male
Female
Bachelors Degree$56,550$67,917$53,197
Graduate Degree$53,571$69,083$51,890
High School Graduate$32,182$36,481$26,903
Less Than 9th Grade$32,350$39,435$22,396
Overall$36,420$39,108$34,559
Some College$34,169$37,795$31,700

$36,420

Average Earnings

$39,108

Average Male

$34,559

Average Female

Cherokee County, North Carolina Earnings by Educational Attainment

Cherokee County, North Carolina Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Cherokee County, North Carolina Language

97.12% of Cherokee County, North Carolina residents speak only English, while 2.88% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 2.04% of the population.

Cherokee County, North Carolina Language

Cherokee County, North Carolina Poverty by Race

rate

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White26,0393,64313.99%
Native46419441.81%
Multiple1,22514411.76%
Black37213736.83%
Hispanic1,01411411.24%
Other2538332.81%

14.63%

Overall Poverty Rate

14.02%

Male Poverty Rate

15.22%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Cherokee County, North Carolina

The race most likely to be in poverty in Cherokee County, North Carolina is Native, with 41.81% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Cherokee County, North Carolina is Hispanic, with 11.24% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 3.48%. Among those working part-time, it was 17.45%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 18.04%.

Cherokee County, North Carolina Poverty

rate

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade21.03%
High School19.42%
Some College9.36%
Bachelors or Greater6.56%

Cherokee County, North Carolina Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed58.14%
Male Unemployed35.16%
Male Employed9.93%
Female Employed6.58%

Cherokee County, North Carolina Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Cherokee County, North Carolina Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Name
Median
Mean
Families$65,928$80,849
Households$51,496$67,671
Married Families$70,138$-999,999,999
Non Families$33,000$41,578

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Cherokee County, North Carolina Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

55.9%

Overall Marriage Rate

56.9%

Male Marriage Rate

55.0%

Female Marriage Rate

Cherokee County, North Carolina Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Cherokee County, North Carolina Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is 45-54, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.

Cherokee County, North Carolina Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Cherokee County, North Carolina Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

2,753

Number of Veterans

2,578

Male Veterans

175

Female Veterans

War
Veterans
Vietnam1,418
First Gulf War441
Second Gulf War375
Korea144
World War II9

Cherokee County, North Carolina Veterans by War

count

Age Group
Veterans
65 to 741,176
75+734
55 to 64394
35 to 54353
18 to 3496

Cherokee County, North Carolina Veterans by Age

count

Name
Veterans
% of Total
White2,52511.21%
2+ Races15317.98%
Hispanic8713.3%
Native American4412.94%
Black318.16%

Cherokee County, North Carolina Veterans by Race

Cherokee County, North Carolina Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

8.03%

Veteran Poverty Rate

40.76%

Veteran Disability Rate

Cherokee County, North Carolina Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

49.9%

Labor Force Participation

47.1%

Employment Rate

5.4%

Unemployment Rate

Cherokee County, North Carolina Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Cherokee County, North Carolina Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Cherokee County, North Carolina Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

36.29%

Born in Cherokee County, North Carolina

98.07%

Native Born

1.93%

Foreign Born

0.66%

Non Citizen

1.27%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

98.07% of Cherokee County, North Carolina residents were born in the United States, with 36.29% having been born in North Carolina. 0.66% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Cherokee County, North Carolina Place of Birth

Sources