County Maps US

Cherokee County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 71 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37039

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

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Population
30,830
+1,964 (+6.8%) since 2020
Land area
455.5
square miles. A further 2.4% of the total area is water
Population density
67.7
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Murphy
Seat of county government.
Established
1839
186 years ago
Largest city
Murphy town
Population 1,808.

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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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 507 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 Cherokee 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
Population30,83071st of 1001,418th of 3,144
Land area455.5 sq mi52nd of 1002,251st of 3,144
Population density67.7 per sq mi71st of 1001,206th of 3,144
Median household income$53,62875th of 1002,552nd of 3,143

Full data for Cherokee County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population30,830Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202028,866Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?28,773Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area455.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area11.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area466.7 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?67.7 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$53,628American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$232,300American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age53.5American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households13,241American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units18,404American 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
-79
410 births, 489 deaths
Net migration
+499
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 7 areas bordering Cherokee 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
Graham CountyNorth Carolina27 mi8,190
Clay CountyNorth Carolina25 mi12,239
Monroe CountyTennessee22 mi49,730
Polk CountyTennessee15 mi18,592
Fannin CountyGeorgia11 mi26,111
Macon CountyNorth Carolina9.9 mi39,232
Union CountyGeorgia7.1 mi27,859

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.