County Maps US

Cleveland County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 29 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37045

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

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Population
103,325
+3,399 (+3.4%) since 2020
Land area
464.3
square miles. A further 0.8% of the total area is water
Population density
223
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Shelby
Seat of county government.
Established
1841
184 years ago
Largest city
Shelby city
Population 23,309.

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 Cleveland 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 Cleveland 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 703 by 800 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 Cleveland 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
Population103,32529th of 100608th of 3,144
Land area464.3 sq mi50th of 1002,214th of 3,144
Population density223 per sq mi25th of 100532nd of 3,144
Median household income$58,53458th of 1002,221st of 3,143

Full data for Cleveland County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population103,325Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202099,926Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?99,511Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area464.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area3.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area468.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?223 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$58,534American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$200,000American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age41.3American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households38,850American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units44,304American 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
-228
1,200 births, 1,428 deaths
Net migration
+1,056
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 6 areas bordering Cleveland 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
Rutherford CountyNorth Carolina28 mi65,745
Cherokee CountySouth Carolina23 mi58,275
Gaston CountyNorth Carolina21 mi246,558
Burke CountyNorth Carolina12 mi88,655
Lincoln CountyNorth Carolina12 mi98,654
York CountySouth Carolina2.2 mi306,887

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.