104,167 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.6% since 2020)
707 square miles of land · 147 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 Craven County in the area they serve, reporting 125,340 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| NEW BERN, CITY OF groundwater · local government · NC0425010 | 37,884 served |
| CRAVEN COUNTY WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · NC0425055 | 37,848 served |
| MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT groundwater · federal · NC0425035 | 17,144 served |
| HAVELOCK WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · NC0425015 | 14,925 served |
| FIRST CRAVEN SANITARY DISTRICT groundwater · local government · NC0425040 | 6,325 served |
| FAIRFIELD HARBOUR groundwater · private · NC0425132 | 5,514 served |
| TOWN OF RIVER BEND groundwater · local government · NC0425113 | 2,846 served |
| VANCEBORO WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · NC0425020 | 1,864 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 Craven County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 466 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 287.
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 Craven County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $168 million — $151.7 million to run schools, about $11,894 per student, plus $14.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $27.3 million local (mostly property tax), $95.7 million state, $43.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.6 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 Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Craven County about $118.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
149 bridges in Craven County: 72 in good condition, 72 fair, and 5 poor (3.4%). “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.
| SR1224 over ROLLOVER CREEK · built 1981 | 950 vehicles a day |
| SR1642 over UT TO PALMETTO SWP. · built 1970 | 480 vehicles a day |
| SR1465 over SWIFT CREEK · built 1973 | 350 vehicles a day |
| GRAY FOX RD(CLOSED over EAST PRONG SLOCUM CRK. · built 1983 | 250 vehicles a day |
| SR1620 over MORGAN SWAMP · built 1985 | 210 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $61.3 million of work in Craven County in fiscal 2025, about $609 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 Craven 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 Craven County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Jones County (17 mi) · Pamlico County (24 mi) · Beaufort County (29 mi) · Lenoir County (32 mi) · Onslow County (34 mi) · Carteret County (36 mi).