97,611 people (2024 Census estimate, +12.0% since 2020)
296 square miles of land · 330 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.
11 active community water systems list Lincoln County in the area they serve, reporting 67,385 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| LINCOLN COUNTY WTP surface water · local government · NC0155035 | 49,693 served |
| LINCOLNTON, CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0155010 | 16,309 served |
| HILL-N-DALE-LINCOLN VIEW S/D buys surface water · private · NC0155127 | 320 served |
| DENVER SHORES MHP WATER SYSTEM groundwater · private · NC0155119 | 229 served |
| LONG SHOALS WATER SYSTEM buys surface water · private · NC0155103 | 196 served |
| COUNTRY CROSSING S/D groundwater · private · NC0155134 | 191 served |
| RIVER MEADOWS S/D groundwater · private · NC0155137 | 119 served |
| CHARLESTON TRAIL ESTATES groundwater · private · NC0155132 | 110 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 149 people were held in Lincoln County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 245 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 162.
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 Lincoln County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $135.8 million — $124.7 million to run schools, about $10,723 per student, plus $9.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $33.8 million local (mostly property tax), $86.3 million state, $18 million federal. Long-term debt: $31.7 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 Lincoln County about $32.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
169 bridges in Lincoln County: 78 in good condition, 81 fair, and 10 poor (5.9%). “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.
| NC150 over UT TO S. FORK CATAWBA RV · built 1955 | 11,500 vehicles a day |
| SR1282 over CLARK CREEK · built 1964 | 4,500 vehicles a day |
| SR1406 over PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY · built 1934 | 3,400 vehicles a day |
| SR1172 over UT TO INDIAN CREEK · built 1968 | 1,500 vehicles a day |
| SR1360 over ANDERSON CREEK · built 1950 | 1,400 vehicles a day |
| SR1123 over HOWARDS CREEK · built 1984 | 850 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $2.7 million of work in Lincoln County in fiscal 2025, about $31 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Catawba County (12 mi) · Gaston County (14 mi) · Cleveland County (21 mi) · Mecklenburg County (28 mi) · Iredell County (30 mi) · Alexander County (30 mi).