Caldwell County, North Carolina
County seat: Lenoir · Population 81,105 (2025) · 472 sq mi
Caldwell County is the 37th most populous of North Carolina's 100 counties, with 81,105 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Lenoir. It is part of the Northwest Region region, one of the 8 Prosperity Zones of North Carolina. The map shows its 11 cities and towns and the 6 neighboring counties.
Caldwell County facts
- County seat
- Lenoir
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 81,105 +0.5% since 2020
- Land area
- 472 sq mi 48th largest of 100
- Water area
- 3 sq mi
- Population density
- 172 per sq mi
- Established
- 1841
- Same name
- One of 4 Caldwell Counties in the US
- Named after
- Joseph Caldwell American mathematician (1773-1835)
- Largest city
- Lenoir 18,372
- Median household income
- $56,425
- Cities and towns
- 11 plus 1 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 10
- Time zone
- Eastern
- FIPS code
- 37027
Cities and towns in Caldwell County
Caldwell County has 11 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Caldwell County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenoir (county seat) | City | 18,372 | |
| Sawmills | Town | 5,105 | |
| Granite Falls | Town | 4,964 | |
| Hudson | Town | 3,786 | |
| Gamewell | Town | 3,713 | |
| Cajah's Mountain | Town | 2,702 | |
| Rhodhiss | Town | 351 | Burke County |
| Cedar Rock | Village | 302 | |
| Blowing Rock | Town | 95 | Watauga County |
| Hickory | City | 35 | Burke and Catawba counties |
| Rutherford College | Town | 0 | Burke County |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Northlakes | 1,716 |
ZIP codes in Caldwell County
10 ZIP codes reach into Caldwell County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 28601 also Catawba, Burke and Alexander counties
- 28605 also Watauga and Avery counties
- 28606 also Wilkes County
- 28611 also Avery County
- 28624 also Wilkes County
- 28630 also Alexander County
- 28638
- 28645 also Watauga, Burke and Wilkes counties
- 28655 also Burke and McDowell counties
- 28667 also Burke County
Population of Caldwell County, 2020–2025
Caldwell County grew by 435 people (+0.5%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 2,632 more deaths than births and a net gain of 3,032 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 80,582 |
| 2021 | 80,529 |
| 2022 | 80,298 |
| 2023 | 80,659 |
| 2024 | 80,854 |
| 2025 | 81,105 |
Neighboring counties
- Burke County southwest · 88,655 people
- Wilkes County northeast · 66,233 people
- Watauga County northwest · 54,786 people
- Alexander County east · 36,958 people
- Avery County west · 18,110 people
- Catawba County southeast · 170,172 people
Printable Caldwell County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (118 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (90 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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