102,194 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.3% since 2020)
464 square miles of land · 220 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 Cleveland County in the area they serve, reporting 105,316 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CLEVELAND COUNTY WATER surface water · local government · NC0123055 | 59,395 served |
| SHELBY, CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0123010 | 23,600 served |
| KINGS MOUNTAIN, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0123020 | 14,784 served |
| BOILING SPRINGS, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0123025 | 4,769 served |
| GRASSY POND WATER CORPORATION buys surface water · private · NC2023003 | 1,303 served |
| GROVER, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0123030 | 805 served |
| LAWNDALE, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0123045 | 660 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 291 people were held in Cleveland County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 459 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 331.
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 Cleveland County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $217.4 million — $180.7 million to run schools, about $12,542 per student, plus $34.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $36.4 million local (mostly property tax), $132.4 million state, $49.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $8.6 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 Cleveland County about $27.3 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.
274 bridges in Cleveland County: 102 in good condition, 140 fair, and 32 poor (11.7%). “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.
| US74 EBL over SANDY RUN CREEK · built 1925 | 10,000 vehicles a day |
| US74 WBL over SANDY RUN · built 1965 | 10,000 vehicles a day |
| NC150 over BUFFALO CREEK · built 1955 | 8,900 vehicles a day |
| SR1001 over POTTS CREEK · built 1951 | 6,600 vehicles a day |
| SR2033 over BUFFALO CREEK · built 1955 | 5,200 vehicles a day |
| SR1305 over BRUSHY CREEK · built 1969 | 2,900 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $28.3 million of work in Cleveland County in fiscal 2025, about $284 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 Cleveland 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 Cleveland County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Cherokee County, SC (20 mi) · Rutherford County (21 mi) · Lincoln County (21 mi) · Gaston County (22 mi) · Burke County (30 mi) · Catawba County (30 mi).