80,739 people (2024 Census estimate, +0.2% since 2020)
472 square miles of land · 171 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.
12 active community water systems list Caldwell County in the area they serve, reporting 74,560 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| LENOIR, CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0114010 | 26,388 served |
| CALDWELL CO WATER SYSTEM-SE buys surface water · local government · NC0114047 | 15,710 served |
| CALDWELL COUNTY WATER--WEST buys surface water · local government · NC0114045 | 8,763 served |
| BATON WATER CORPORATION buys surface water · private · NC0114025 | 7,874 served |
| GRANITE FALLS, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0114030 | 7,318 served |
| SAWMILLS, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0114040 | 5,588 served |
| GREEN MOUNTAIN PARK groundwater · private · NC0114459 | 1,194 served |
| RHODHISS, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0114035 | 867 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 167 people were held in Caldwell County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 330 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 205.
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 Caldwell County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $139.9 million — $129.8 million to run schools, about $12,069 per student, plus $6.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $26.5 million local (mostly property tax), $90 million state, $22 million federal. Long-term debt: $19.6 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 Caldwell County about $25 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
201 bridges in Caldwell County: 67 in good condition, 114 fair, and 20 poor (10.0%). “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.
| US321NBL over LAKE HICKORY · built 1983 | 22,250 vehicles a day |
| US64 NC18 over GREASY CREEK · built 1960 | 19,500 vehicles a day |
| SR1002 over GUNPOWDER CREEK · built 1974 | 6,000 vehicles a day |
| COMPLEX ROAD over LOWER CREEK · built 1968 | 3,200 vehicles a day |
| SR1372 over YADKIN RIVER · built 1995 | 820 vehicles a day |
| SR1712 over UPPER LITTLE RIVER · built 1959 | 700 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $25.6 million of work in Caldwell County in fiscal 2025, about $317 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 Caldwell 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 Caldwell County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Burke County (19 mi) · Alexander County (19 mi) · Watauga County (22 mi) · Avery County (24 mi) · Wilkes County (26 mi) · Catawba County (27 mi).