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Small town

Living in Rutherford College, NC

Rutherford College is a small town of 1,374 people in Burke County, North Carolina. It's about 12 miles from Hickory, NC and 54 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 88°F and winter highs 49°F, with about 2 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $186k and rent runs about $869 a month.

1,374people
$186kTypical home
$869/moRent
88° / 49°Summer / winter
2"Snow
244Sunny days
118Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Small town of 1,374
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 595 people per sq mi
  • 54 mi to Charlotte, NC
  • 12 mi to Hickory, NC
  • 10 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $186k (≈$1,170/mo)
  • Median rent $869/mo
  • Median household income $68k
  • Property tax about 0.6% of value
  • 3.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 88°F
  • Winter highs around 49°F
  • Somewhat humid summers (dew point 64°F)
  • 244 sunny days a year (101 totally clear)
  • 121 cloudy days a year
  • 36 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 118 days a year with rain or snow
  • 2" of snow a year
  • Snow days are rare
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • 1 night a year below 10°F
  • Usually calm

Safety

  • Very low violent crime (134 per 100k), county-wide
  • Very low property crime (746 per 100k), county-wide

People

  • Median age 41
  • 28% of households have kids
  • 17% are 65 or older
  • 25% have a college degree
  • Not very diverse
  • 6% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 25 min
  • 0% walk or take transit to work
  • 50 mi to CLT airport
  • 50 mi to CLT (major hub)
  • 60 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 74% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1981
  • 79% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Gently rolling terrain
  • Elevation 1,240 ft
  • 207 mi to the ocean
  • 109 mi to a big lake
  • 18 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 30 mi to the nearest ski area
  • 11 mi to the nearest campground
  • 10 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 263 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 9 bars within 25 mi
  • 75 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 20 museums within 25 mi
  • 7 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • 9 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 48% of North Carolina districts (reading)
  • 3 mi to the nearest grocery store
  • 10 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 13 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • Vet in town
  • 2 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 13 congregations per 10k people
  • 9 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • Burke County: R+41 in 2024
  • North Carolina: R+3 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • Low hurricane risk
  • Moderate tornado risk
  • Very low wildfire risk
  • Low earthquake risk
  • Moderate flood risk
  • Moderate drought risk
  • Moderate winter storm risk
  • Very low heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.

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