County Maps US

Catawba County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 19 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37035

Within North Carolina
Catawba County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Newton, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
170,172
+9,280 (+5.8%) since 2020
Land area
401.4
square miles. A further 3.5% of the total area is water
Population density
424
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Newton
Seat of county government.
Established
1842
183 years ago
Largest city
Hickory city
Population 45,852 for the whole place, which extends beyond this county.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Catawba County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Catawba County, North Carolina from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 492 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Catawba County ranks

Position among the 100 counties of North Carolina, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn North CarolinaNationally
Population170,17219th of 100415th of 3,144
Land area401.4 sq mi61st of 1002,521st of 3,144
Population density424 per sq mi11th of 100329th of 3,144
Median household income$67,86428th of 1001,357th of 3,143

Full data for Catawba County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population170,172Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 2020160,892Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?160,628Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area401.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area14.6 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area416 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?424 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$67,864American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$241,600American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age42.1American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households66,227American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units73,133American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-300
1,710 births, 2,010 deaths
Net migration
+3,308
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 5 areas bordering Catawba County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Lincoln CountyNorth Carolina32 mi98,654
Iredell CountyNorth Carolina24 mi211,798
Burke CountyNorth Carolina17 mi88,655
Alexander CountyNorth Carolina17 mi36,958
Caldwell CountyNorth Carolina3.3 mi81,105

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 100 counties of North Carolina

Open the interactive North Carolina county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.