88,545 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.5% since 2020)
506 square miles of land · 175 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
17 active community water systems list Burke County in the area they serve, reporting 73,316 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MORGANTON CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0112015 | 27,221 served |
| VALDESE, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0112010 | 13,571 served |
| ICARD TOWNSHIP WATER CORP buys surface water · private · NC0112060 | 7,821 served |
| BRENTWOOD WATER ASSOCIATION buys surface water · private · NC0112103 | 6,038 served |
| BRENTWOOD-JAMESTOWN ROAD buys surface water · private · NC0112104 | 6,035 served |
| BURKE CO. WATER-SOUTH buys surface water · local government · NC0112075 | 5,207 served |
| DREXEL TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0112045 | 3,302 served |
| RUTHERFORD COLLEGE TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0112055 | 2,083 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 116 people were held in Burke County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 208 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 179.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Burke County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $153.8 million — $144.3 million to run schools, about $12,262 per student, plus $5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $24.7 million local (mostly property tax), $93.9 million state, $32.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $26.4 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Burke County about $22.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
233 bridges in Burke County: 101 in good condition, 118 fair, and 14 poor (6.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US64 70 over SOUTHERN RR · built 1955 | 21,000 vehicles a day |
| I-40 EBL over SILVER CREEK · built 1956 | 17,500 vehicles a day |
| US64 NC18 over JOHNS RIVER · built 1934 | 11,500 vehicles a day |
| US70 over SOUTHERN RR · built 1940 | 5,600 vehicles a day |
| SR1002 over I-40 · built 1956 | 4,100 vehicles a day |
| SR1147 over CATAWBA RIVER · built 1959 | 2,600 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $17.5 million of work in Burke County in fiscal 2025, about $200 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-09. Early voting: 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-31. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-20. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: NC State Board of Elections: upcoming election · NC State Board of Elections: vote in person · NC State Board of Elections: voter ID
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Burke County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Burke County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Caldwell County (19 mi) · McDowell County (20 mi) · Avery County (25 mi) · Rutherford County (27 mi) · Catawba County (28 mi) · Cleveland County (30 mi).