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Rutherford County, North Carolina
Rutherford County spans the Blue Ridge foothills in western North Carolina, anchored by Rutherfordton, the seat, and Forest City, its largest town and commercial center. Lake Lure and Chimney Rock Village support a separate resort and second-home market of lakefront and mountainside development, where steep terrain and limited road access constrain buildable lots far more than in the flatter Forest City corridor.
Open the live Rutherford County map →
Rutherford County at a glance
- 66,000Population (2025)
- RutherfordtonCounty seat
- 565 sq miLand area
- 117 / sq miDensity
- $51,000Median household income
- $200,000Median home value
What the live Rutherford County map shows
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- City Boundaries: 8
- School Boundaries: 1
- Congressional Districts: 1
- Soils: 101
- State House Districts: 7
- State Senate Districts: 3
Cities and towns in Rutherford County
Bostic, Chimney Rock Village, Ellenboro, Forest City, Lake Lure, Ruth, Rutherfordton, Spindale.
Neighboring counties
- Polk County, NC · map
- McDowell County, NC · map
- Cleveland County, NC · map
- Henderson County, NC · map
- Burke County, NC · map
- Buncombe County, NC · map