Catawba County, North Carolina

Catawba County (/kəˈtɔːbə/ kuh-TAW-buh)^[1] is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,610.^[2] Its county seat is Newton,^[3] and its largest community is Hickory.

Catawba County
County
Old Catawba County Courthouse
Flag Seal Logo
Motto:  "Making. Living. Better."
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35.66°N 81.21°W / 35.66; -81.21
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1842
Named after	Catawba Tribe
Seat	Newton
Largest community	Hickory
Area
• Total	416.02 sq mi (1,077.5 km2)
• Land	401.37 sq mi (1,039.5 km2)
• Water	14.65 sq mi (37.9 km2)  3.52%
Population  (2020)
• Total	160,610
• Estimate  (2024)	167,054
• Density	400.15/sq mi (154.50/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	10th
Website	www.catawbacountync.gov

The county is part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Catawba County, formed in 1842 from Lincoln County, was named after the Catawba River. The word "catawba" is rooted in the Choctaw sound kat'a pa, loosely translated as "to divide or separate, to break." However, scholars are fairly certain that this word was imposed from outside.^[4] The Native Americans who once inhabited the region known as the Catawba people, were considered one of the most powerful Southeastern Siouan-speaking tribes in the Carolina Piedmont. They now live along the border of North Carolina, near the city of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Scots-Irish and German colonial immigrants first settled in the Catawba River valley in the mid-18th century. An official history of the Scots-Irish and German settlement was documented in 1954, by Charles J. Preslar Jr,^[5] and more recently by a series of three books by Gary Freeze, called The Catawbans.

Geography

Interactive map of Catawba County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 416.02 square miles (1,077.5 km²), of which 401.37 square miles (1,039.5 km²) is land and 14.65 square miles (37.9 km²) (3.52%) is water.^[6]

State and local protected areas/sites

• Houck's Chapel
• Mountain Creek Park
• Murray's Mill Historic Site
• Old Hickory Tavern Birthplace of Hickory
• Old Piedmont Wagon

Major water bodies

• Balls Creek
• Betts Creek
• Catawba River
• Clark Creek
• Henry Fork
• Jacob Fork
• Lake Hickory
• Lake Norman
• Lookout Shoals Lake
• Lyle Creek
• McLin Creek
• Muddy Creek
• Pinch Gut Creek
• Pott Creek
• Snow Creek
• South Fork Catawba River

Adjacent counties

• Alexander County – north
• Iredell County – east
• Lincoln County – south
• Caldwell County – northwest
• Burke County – west

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	8,862		—
1860	10,729		21.1%
1870	10,984		2.4%
1880	14,946		36.1%
1890	18,689		25.0%
1900	22,133		18.4%
1910	27,918		26.1%
1920	33,839		21.2%
1930	43,991		30.0%
1940	54,653		24.2%
1950	61,794		13.1%
1960	73,191		18.4%
1970	90,873		24.2%
1980	105,208		15.8%
1990	118,412		12.6%
2000	141,685		19.7%
2010	154,358		8.9%
2020	160,610		4.1%
2024 (est.)	167,054	[7]	4.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790–1960[9] 1900–1990[10] 1990–2000[11] 2010[12] 2020[2]

2020 census

Catawba County racial composition^[13]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	116,120	72.3%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	12,628	7.86%
Native American	379	0.24%
Asian	6,937	4.32%
Pacific Islander	78	0.05%
Other/Mixed	7,091	4.42%
Hispanic or Latino	17,377	10.82%

As of the 2020 census, there were 160,610 people, 62,417 households, and 41,861 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census,^[14] there were 154,358 people, 55,533 households, and 39,095 families residing in the county. The population density was 354 people per square mile (137 people/km²). There were 59,919 housing units at an average density of 150 units per square mile (58 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.1% White, 8.5% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, and 1.14% from two or more races, 9.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 55,533 households, out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,536, and the median income for a family was $47,474. Males had a median income of $30,822 versus $23,352 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,358. About 6.50% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.50% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

The county has been represented primarily by Republicans since World War II: no Democratic presidential candidate has won Catawba County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944.^[15] Jimmy Carter is the last Democrat to manage even 40 percent of the county's vote.

United States presidential election results for Catawba County, North Carolina^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	59,577	68.39%	26,569	30.50%	963	1.11%
2020	56,588	67.83%	25,689	30.79%	1,148	1.38%
2016	48,324	66.79%	21,216	29.32%	2,811	3.89%
2012	44,538	63.99%	24,069	34.58%	994	1.43%
2008	42,993	61.90%	25,656	36.94%	802	1.15%
2004	39,602	67.48%	18,858	32.13%	228	0.39%
2000	34,244	67.36%	16,246	31.95%	351	0.69%
1996	26,898	58.03%	15,601	33.66%	3,855	8.32%
1992	25,466	51.54%	16,334	33.06%	7,609	15.40%
1988	28,872	69.01%	12,922	30.89%	44	0.11%
1984	31,476	72.78%	11,700	27.05%	74	0.17%
1980	22,873	60.39%	13,873	36.63%	1,132	2.99%
1976	18,696	52.36%	16,862	47.22%	150	0.42%
1972	24,106	74.46%	7,744	23.92%	525	1.62%
1968	18,393	56.33%	6,974	21.36%	7,285	22.31%
1964	17,116	51.98%	15,814	48.02%	0	0.00%
1960	19,135	58.65%	13,491	41.35%	0	0.00%
1956	19,246	62.75%	11,424	37.25%	0	0.00%
1952	16,814	59.27%	11,554	40.73%	0	0.00%
1948	9,471	47.50%	8,844	44.36%	1,622	8.14%
1944	7,211	41.55%	10,146	58.45%	0	0.00%
1940	5,656	33.49%	11,233	66.51%	0	0.00%
1936	6,387	36.70%	11,017	63.30%	0	0.00%
1932	5,817	40.56%	8,446	58.90%	77	0.54%
1928	7,556	60.58%	4,916	39.42%	0	0.00%
1924	5,998	50.32%	5,754	48.28%	167	1.40%
1920	5,935	52.34%	5,404	47.66%	0	0.00%
1916	2,624	50.39%	2,569	49.34%	14	0.27%
1912	203	4.85%	2,110	50.38%	1,875	44.77%
1908	2,010	51.42%	1,864	47.68%	35	0.90%
1904	1,309	42.47%	1,497	48.57%	276	8.96%
1900	1,522	46.23%	1,612	48.97%	158	4.80%
1896	1,004	27.27%	2,649	71.94%	29	0.79%
1892	705	20.85%	1,711	50.59%	966	28.56%
1888	765	23.85%	2,349	73.22%	94	2.93%
1884	662	22.30%	2,307	77.70%	0	0.00%
1880	624	24.89%	1,883	75.11%	0	0.00%

Law and government

Catawba County is governed by a five-member county board of commissioners, a seven-member school board, and five supervisors on the water and soil conservation district. The county's judiciary is represented by two superior court judges and six district court judges. Other offices include the district attorney, county clerk, sheriff, and register of deeds.

County Offices

Board of Commissioners

Office[17]	Holder	Party	Term expires
County Commissioner (chair)	Randy Isenhower	Republican	2026
County Commissioner (vice-chair)	Austin Allran	Republican	2028
County Commissioner	Robert Abernethy, Jr.	Republican	2026
County Commissioner	Barbara Beatty	Republican	2028
County Commissioner	Cole Setzer	Republican	2026

North Carolina General Assembly

North Carolina Senate

District[18]	Representative	Party	Term expires
45	Mark Hollo	Republican	2027

North Carolina House of Representatives

District[18]	Representative	Party	Term expires
89	Mitchell S. Setzer	Republican	2027
96	Jay Adams	Republican	2027

Federal offices

Senate

Senator[19]	Party	Term expires
Ted Budd	Republican	2029
Thom Tillis	Republican	2027

House of Representatives

District[20]	Representative	Party	Term expires
10th	Pat Harrigan	Republican	2027

Transportation

Major highways

• I-40
• US 70
• US 321
• 
  US 321 Bus.
• NC 10
• NC 16
• 
  NC 16 Bus. (Lowesville–Denver business route)
• 
  NC 16 Bus. (Newton–Conover business route)
• 
  NC 16 Truck (truck route)
• NC 18
• NC 127
• NC 150

Major infrastructure

• Hickory Regional Airport (partially in Burke County)

Rail and mass transit

With approximately twenty freight trains a day, Catawba County is a freight railroad transportation center. This is largely due to the areas strong manufacturing based economy, and its placement along the Norfolk Southern Railway line. The Caldwell County Railroad also serves the county and interchanges with Norfolk Southern in Hickory.^[21]

Conover has been designated as the Catawba County passenger rail stop for the Western North Carolina Railroad planned to run from Salisbury, to Asheville.

The Greenway Public Transportation bus service serves the cities of Conover, Hickory, and Newton.^[22]

Economy

Catawba County is part of the "North Carolina Data Center Corridor" in western North Carolina.^[23] The town of Maiden is home to the Apple iCloud data center and is the largest privately owned solar farm in the United States (operated by Apple). As of 2017, the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation controls a 55-acre business park in Conover designed for data centers and office use.^[24] CommScope, Inc., and Corning Corp., manufacturers of fiber optic cabling, became the region's largest employers in the late 1990s. The city of Hickory is home to Lenoir–Rhyne University, the Hickory Motor Speedway, and the minor league baseball team the Hickory Crawdads. The town of Conover is home to the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn.

Education

• Most of the county is served by Catawba County Schools.
• Newton and Conover are served by Newton-Conover City Schools.
• Most of Hickory is served by the Hickory City School System.

Higher education

• Lenoir–Rhyne University
• Catawba Valley Community College
• Appalachian State University, Hickory campus
• NC Center for Engineering Technologies

Libraries

• The Catawba County Library System serves the residents of Catawba County. The library system operates 7 libraries throughout the county.
• The Hickory Public Library System serves the residents of Hickory. The library system operates 2 libraries: The Patrick Beaver Memorial Library and the Ridgeview Library.

Points of Interest

Museums and historical sites

• Catawba County Firefighters Museum
• Catawba County Museum of History
• Hickory Aviation Museum
• Hickory Museum of Art
• Catawba Science Center
• Murrays Mill
• Bunker Hill Covered Bridge
• Piedmont Wagon Company

Sports and entertainment

• Hickory Crawdads
• Hickory Motor Speedway

Music and performing arts

• Newton-Conover Auditorium
• The Green-Room Theatre
• Western Piedmont Symphony
• Hickory Community Theatre

Other attractions

• Valley Hills Mall
• Lake Norman
• Lake Hickory
• Lake Lookout

Communities

Map of Catawba County with municipal and township labels

Cities

• Claremont
• Conover
• Hickory (largest community)
• Newton (county seat)

Towns

• Brookford
• Catawba
• Long View
• Maiden

Census-designated places

• Lake Norman of Catawba
• Mountain View
• St. Stephens

Unincorporated communities

• Banoak
• Blackburn
• Chronicle
• Drums Crossroads
• Long Island
• Monbo
• Olivers Crossroads
• Propst Crossroads
• Sherrills Ford
• Terrell

Townships

• Bandy's
• Caldwell
• Catawba
• Clines
• Hickory
• Jacobs Fork
• Mountain Creek
• Newton

See also

• List of counties in North Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Catawba County, North Carolina