County profile
Cherokee County, NC
United States · GDP 2024
#1704 of 3,127 US counties by GDPtop-quartile growthmore diversified than 24% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$1.2B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+7.1%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
7,678
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
649
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$43.3k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
30,830
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.9%
Median HH income
$53.6k±$3.8k
Bachelor's degree+
24.2%±2.1%
Poverty rate
12.4%±1.7%
Business applications
328 · 2025
Retail establishments
125
41.1/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
No public companies loaded for this state yet — universe expands with the full ingest.
HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Food & accommodation31%
Retail trade24%
Manufacturing19%
Health care16%
Construction6%
Other services4%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
30,830
residents · 2025 · +6.8% since 2020
Income per capita $45.1k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+2,956
International migration−10
Natural change−1,005
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$867.6M2019
$864.6M2020
$905.3M2021
$1.0B2022
$1.1B2023
$1.2B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$232.3k±$11.6k
Median gross rent
$813/mo±$141/mo
Vacancy rate
28.1%±2.2%
Affordability
5.4× wages
Residential permits
$70.3M
239 units · 7.8/1k pop
FEMA risk score
56.7
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$935/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Landslide 97Wildfire 81Earthquake 74
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
1442016
1492017
1592018
1662019
1742020
2052021
2552022
2722023
2772024
3062025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 4% since 20212292021
2632022
2802023
2322024
2392025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
64.6 km
I-75
Nearest freight rail
4.7 km
GSM
Nearest port
54.3 km
C. REED DAVIS CONTRACTORS,PORT OF TELLICO BGE WHF
Nearest commercial airport
75.7 km
MC GHEE TYSON
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$43.3k
avg. annual pay · +26% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Cherokee?
Cherokee's economy produced $1.2B in 2024, growing 7.1% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is food & accommodation.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.