263,386 people (2024 Census estimate, +9.9% since 2020)
633 square miles of land · 416 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.
6 active community water systems list Union County in the area they serve, reporting 220,884 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| UNION COUNTY WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · NC0190413 | 169,685 served |
| MONROE, CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0190010 | 43,081 served |
| WINGATE, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0190030 | 3,950 served |
| MARSHVILLE, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0190015 | 3,163 served |
| JAARS, INC groundwater · private · NC0190127 | 625 served |
| GLENCROFT S/D buys surface water · local government · NC2090010 | 380 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 259 people were held in Union County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 153 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 220.
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 Union County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $511.7 million — $470.6 million to run schools, about $11,341 per student, plus $26 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $169.5 million local (mostly property tax), $275.5 million state, $59.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $227.9 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 Union County about $110.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
355 bridges in Union County: 179 in good condition, 156 fair, and 20 poor (5.6%). “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.
| SR1315 over UT TO E FORK TWELVE MI C · built 1968 | 7,300 vehicles a day |
| NC200 over STEWARTS CREEK · built 1920 | 7,000 vehicles a day |
| CONCORD AVE over US74 NC200 · built 1951 | 6,200 vehicles a day |
| SR1301 over TWELVEMILE CREEK · built 1964 | 6,100 vehicles a day |
| SR1315 over UNDERWOOD CREEK · built 1968 | 4,600 vehicles a day |
| SR1004 over SOUTH FORK CROOKED CREEK · built 1960 | 4,200 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $27.6 million of work in Union County in fiscal 2025, about $116 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 Union 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 Union County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Lancaster County, SC (23 mi) · Anson County (24 mi) · Mecklenburg County (25 mi) · Stanly County (27 mi) · Cabarrus County (27 mi) · Chesterfield County, SC (32 mi).