About Iredell County

Iredell County was incorporated in 1788 when it was formed from adjacent Rowan County. It is named for Judge James Iredell (1751-1799), Attorney General of North Carolina during the Revolutionary War and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1788. The name Iredell, originally Eyredale, dates back to year 1066 to the Battle of Hastings, and it means "a valley of flowing air."

The county seat of Statesville, established in 1789, is approximately 45 miles north of Charlotte, and approximately 130 miles west of Raleigh, the state capital. Lake Norman, the nation's largest manmade lake by surface area, extends into the southwest portion of the county with approximately 520 miles of shoreline.

Iredell County is in the central section of the state and is bounded by Rowan, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Lincoln, Catawba, Alexander, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Davie counties. The present land area is 574.13 square miles and the 2012 population was 162,708.

Topography
The county is dominated by ridges separated by creeks in the valleys. The Brushy Mountains intrude into the northwest corner and include Fox Mountain, with the county's highest elevation of 1,760 feet. The lowest point is 700 feet above sea level, where the South Yadkin River crosses the county line and flows eastward along the Davie-Rowan border. At the old courthouse (Iredell County Government Center) is the center of Statesville, where the elevation is 926 feet.

The soil is loamy, a mixture of sand and clay which varies in its proportions from one section of the county to another, depending on the indigenous mineral structure. To be agriculturally productive, the Iredell soil must be chemically supplemented. The county is, however, naturally well drained and watered by the venation of its numerous creeks.
Iredell County Location in North Carolina
Iredell County Map

Climate


  • Annual average temperature: 60.1° F
  • Annual average precipitation: 54.76"
  • Average frost-free days: 212
  • Rainfall: 47"
  • Snowfall: 9.1"
  • Average relative humidity: 70%

County Holidays


  • New Year's Day
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • Good Friday
  • Memorial Day
  • Independence Day
  • Veterans Day
  • Labor Day
  • Thanksgiving Day and following Friday
  • Christmas (2 or 3 days)

Iredell County Information Links


The above links are outside the Iredell County Government website. Iredell County assumes no responsibility for the information contained on these sites.

Neighboring Areas


Iredell County North Carolina QuickFacts


People QuickFacts
Iredell County
North Carolina
Population, July 1, 2022 estimate195,89710,698,973
Population, 2020 (April 1) estimates base186,699
10,439,414
Population,% change, April 1, 2020 to July 1, 20224.9%2.5%
Population, April 1, 2010159,4379,535,483
Persons under 5 years,%5.3%5.6%
Persons under 18 years,%22.5%21.8%
Persons 65 years and over,%16.2%17.0%
Female persons,%50.5%51.1%
EthnicityIredell County
North Carolina
White alone, percent (a)81.8%70.1%
Black or African American alone, percent (a)12.5%22.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, percent (a)0.6%1.6%
Asian alone, percent (a)2.7%3.4%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, percent (a)0.1%0.1%
Persons reporting two or more races, percent2.3%2.5%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent (b)8.5%10.2%
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, percent74.6%61.9%
Households & Education
Iredell County
North Carolina
Living in same house 1 year and over, percent, 2017-202187.0%
85.9%
Language other than English spoken at home, percent age 5+, 2017-20219.6%
12.1%
High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2017-202191.1%
89.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2017-202131.6%
33.0%
Veterans, 2017-20219,733
637,790
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2017-202125.4
25.0
Households & Income
Iredell County
North Carolina
Housing units, July 1, 202181,511
4,801,712
Home ownership rate, 2017-202171.8%65.9%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2017-2021$220,800
$197,500
Households, 2017-202170,654
4,034,684
Persons per household, 2017-20212.59
2.50
Per capita income in the past 12 months (in 2021 dollars), 2017-2021$37,667
$34,209
Median household income (in 2021 dollars), 2017-2021$66,824
$60,516
Persons in poverty, percent9.5%13.4%
Economy
Iredell County
North Carolina
In civilian labor force, total, percent of population age 16 years+, 2017-202164.9%
61.4%
In civilian labor force, female, percent of population age 16 years+, 2017-202158.0%
57.6%
Total accommodation and food services sales, 2017 ($1,000)  (c)393,446
24,912,995
Total health care and social assistance receipts/revenue, 2017 ($1,000)  (c)964,900
72,732,275
Total transportation & warehousing receipts/revenue, 2017 ($1,000)  (c)226,104
16,823,524
Total retail sales, 2017 ($1,000)  (c)2,770,125
141,134,258
Total retail sales per capita, 2012  (c)$15,769
$13,735
Geography
Iredell County
North Carolina
Land area, 2020 (square miles)574.41
48,623.02
Population per square mile, 2020325.0
214.7
FIPS Code3709737

(a) Includes persons reporting only 1 race.

(b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories

(c) Economic Census - Puerto Rico data are not comparable to U.S. Economic Census data.


Source U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts. QuickFacts data are derived from: Population Estimates, American Community Survey, Census of Population and Housing, Current Population Survey, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, State and County Housing Unit Estimates, County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics, Economic Census, Survey of Business Owners, Building Permits.


Browse more data sets for Iredell County, North Carolina.