County profile
Rutherford County, NC
United States · GDP 2024
#1106 of 3,127 US counties by GDP43rd-percentile growthmore diversified than 66% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$2.5B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+3.8%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
16,815
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
1,289
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$45.4k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
65,745
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
4.2%
Median HH income
$51.4k±$2.7k
Bachelor's degree+
21.5%±1.9%
Poverty rate
16.8%±1.8%
Business applications
744 · 2025
Retail establishments
209
31.9/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Valentine Beauty, Inc.Consumer Cyclical$176.6k——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
Health care26%
Manufacturing21%
Retail trade20%
Food & accommodation14%
Other services9%
Construction9%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
65,745
residents · 2025 · +2.1% since 2020
Income per capita $47.5k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+3,436
International migration+14
Natural change−2,124
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$1.9B2019
$1.9B2020
$2.0B2021
$2.2B2022
$2.4B2023
$2.5B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$201.8k±$9.1k
Median gross rent
$783/mo±$19/mo
Vacancy rate
18.7%±1.2%
Affordability
4.4× wages
Residential permits
$73.3M
269 units · 4.1/1k pop
FEMA risk score
72.7
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$925/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Strong wind 97Ice storm 91Landslide 86
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
1872016
1952017
2112018
2232019
2332020
2662021
3192022
3522023
3762024
3892025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 47% since 20211832021
2202022
2442023
1932024
2692025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
26.7 km
I-40
Nearest freight rail
2.8 km
Freight rail
Nearest port
183.8 km
BURKHART ENTERPRISES, KNOXVILLE DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
56.4 km
ASHEVILLE RGNL
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$45.4k
avg. annual pay · +24% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Rutherford?
Rutherford's economy produced $2.5B in 2024, growing 3.8% year over year — about the middle of the pack among US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.
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.