County Maps US

McDowell County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 57 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37111

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

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Population
45,198
+644 (+1.4%) since 2020
Land area
440
square miles. A further 1.2% of the total area is water
Population density
103
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Marion
Seat of county government.
Established
1842
183 years ago
Largest city
Marion city
Population 7,440.

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 McDowell 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 McDowell 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 McDowell 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
Population45,19857th of 1001,093rd of 3,144
Land area440 sq mi55th of 1002,304th of 3,144
Population density103 per sq mi56th of 100884th of 3,144
Median household income$57,16864th of 1002,316th of 3,143

Full data for McDowell County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population45,198Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202044,554Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?44,584Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area440 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area5.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area445.4 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?103 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$57,168American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$171,100American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age44.3American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households18,638American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units21,575American 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
-280
402 births, 682 deaths
Net migration
+178
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 McDowell 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
Burke CountyNorth Carolina34 mi88,655
Rutherford CountyNorth Carolina24 mi65,745
Buncombe CountyNorth Carolina19 mi277,417
Yancey CountyNorth Carolina15 mi19,084
Mitchell CountyNorth Carolina15 mi15,062
Avery CountyNorth Carolina5.0 mi18,110

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.