398,143 people (2024 Census estimate, +4.1% since 2020)
408 square miles of land · 976 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.
15 active community water systems list Forsyth County in the area they serve, reporting 395,703 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WINSTON-SALEM, CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0234010 | 391,900 served |
| ABINGTON S/D groundwater · private · NC0234191 | 1,506 served |
| GRAYSTONE/SMOKERISE WATER SYSTEM groundwater · private · NC0234183 | 455 served |
| APPLEGATE WATER SYSTEM groundwater · private · NC0234179 | 442 served |
| YORKTOWN S/D buys surface water · private · NC0234165 | 272 served |
| GRANDVIEW WATER SYSTEM groundwater · private · NC0234124 | 198 served |
| MCBRIDE`S MHP groundwater · private · NC0234167 | 190 served |
| BISHOPS RIDGE S/D groundwater · private · NC0234197 | 173 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 821 people were held in Forsyth County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 324 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 825.
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 Forsyth County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $791.1 million — $728.1 million to run schools, about $13,812 per student, plus $37.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $185 million local (mostly property tax), $386.3 million state, $175.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $426.9 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 Forsyth County about $104.1 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
462 bridges in Forsyth County: 207 in good condition, 211 fair, and 44 poor (9.5%). “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.
| US52 US311 over US311 · built 1963 | 90,000 vehicles a day |
| I40 BUS over BRUSHY FORK CREEK · built 1958 | 74,500 vehicles a day |
| US52 over 28TH STREET · built 1964 | 70,000 vehicles a day |
| US421 over LITTLE CREEK · built 1960 | 58,500 vehicles a day |
| NC67 over LITTLE CREEK · built 1950 | 55,000 vehicles a day |
| NC67 over US421 · built 1959 | 53,500 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $339.5 million of work in Forsyth County in fiscal 2025, about $887 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 Forsyth 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 Forsyth County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Stokes County (18 mi) · Davie County (21 mi) · Yadkin County (23 mi) · Davidson County (23 mi) · Guilford County (26 mi) · Surry County (31 mi).