County Maps US

Lincoln County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 31 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37109

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

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Population
98,654
+11,501 (+13.2%) since 2020
Land area
295.9
square miles. A further 3.0% of the total area is water
Population density
333
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Lincolnton
Seat of county government.
Established
1778
247 years ago
Largest city
Lincolnton city
Population 12,465.

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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 332 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 Lincoln 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
Population98,65431st of 100633rd of 3,144
Land area295.9 sq mi82nd of 1002,815th of 3,144
Population density333 per sq mi16th of 100398th of 3,144
Median household income$80,01615th of 100585th of 3,143

Full data for Lincoln County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population98,654Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202087,153Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?86,782Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area295.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area9.0 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area304.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?333 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$80,016American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$321,000American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age44.4American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households36,811American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units39,504American 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
-16
968 births, 984 deaths
Net migration
+1,146
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 Lincoln 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
Catawba CountyNorth Carolina32 mi170,172
Gaston CountyNorth Carolina28 mi246,558
Cleveland CountyNorth Carolina12 mi103,325
Mecklenburg CountyNorth Carolina6.8 mi1,233,383
Iredell CountyNorth Carolina6.6 mi211,798
Burke CountyNorth Carolina0.3 mi88,655

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.