30,373 people (2024 Census estimate, +5.2% since 2020)
456 square miles of land · 67 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.
7 active community water systems list Cherokee County in the area they serve, reporting 9,913 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MURPHY, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0120010 | 4,498 served |
| ANDREWS, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0120020 | 3,284 served |
| MARBLE COMMUNITY WTR SYSTEM groundwater · private · NC0120025 | 999 served |
| BEAR PAW RESORT groundwater · private · NC0120103 | 909 served |
| GRANNY SQUIRREL groundwater · private · NC0120109 | 142 served |
| MURPHY MHP groundwater · private · NC0120115 | 51 served |
| THE SANCTUARY AT VANCE MTN groundwater · private · NC1020006 | 30 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 119 people were held in Cherokee County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 721 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 121.
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 Cherokee County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $46.3 million — $45 million to run schools, about $14,304 per student, plus $382,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.9 million local (mostly property tax), $27.6 million state, $10.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $577,000.
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 Cherokee County about $15 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
163 bridges in Cherokee County: 53 in good condition, 93 fair, and 17 poor (10.4%). “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.
| US19 US74EB US129N over VALLEY RIVER · built 1979 | 8,250 vehicles a day |
| SR1548 over HIWASSEE RIVER · built 1932 | 3,100 vehicles a day |
| US129 over SOUTHERN RAILROAD · built 1963 | 2,000 vehicles a day |
| SR1428 over WEBB CREEK · built 1920 | 1,300 vehicles a day |
| SR1624 over VALLEY RIVER · built 1970 | 1,100 vehicles a day |
| SR1649 over VALLEY RIVER · built 1956 | 700 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $21.4 million of work in Cherokee County in fiscal 2025, about $744 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Clay County (18 mi) · Graham County (20 mi) · Union County, GA (21 mi) · Fannin County, GA (24 mi) · Monroe County, TN (24 mi) · Towns County, GA (25 mi).