County Maps US

Mitchell County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 87 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37121

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

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Population
15,062
+161 (+1.1%) since 2020
Land area
221.3
square miles. A further 0.3% of the total area is water
Population density
68.1
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Bakersville
Seat of county government.
Established
1861
164 years ago
Largest city
Spruce Pine town
Population 2,211.

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 Mitchell 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 Mitchell 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 764 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 Mitchell 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
Population15,06287th of 1002,094th of 3,144
Land area221.3 sq mi97th of 1002,968th of 3,144
Population density68.1 per sq mi70th of 1001,201st of 3,144
Median household income$57,60263rd of 1002,297th of 3,143

Full data for Mitchell County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population15,062Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202014,901Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?14,901Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area221.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area0.63 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area221.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?68.1 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$57,602American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$220,100American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age48.0American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households6,587American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units8,697American 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
-112
129 births, 241 deaths
Net migration
+32
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 Mitchell 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
Yancey CountyNorth Carolina48 mi19,084
Avery CountyNorth Carolina17 mi18,110
Unicoi CountyTennessee15 mi17,856
McDowell CountyNorth Carolina15 mi45,198
Carter CountyTennessee12 mi57,361

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.