Lincoln County, North Carolina

History

The county was formed in 1779 from the eastern part of Tryon County. It was named for Benjamin Lincoln, a general in the American Revolutionary War.

In 1782 the southeastern part of Burke County was annexed to Lincoln County. In 1841 parts of Lincoln County and Rutherford County were combined to form Cleveland County. In 1842 the northern third of Lincoln County became Catawba County. In 1846 the southern half of what was left of Lincoln County became Gaston County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 307 square miles (800 km²), of which 298 square miles (770 km²) is land and 9.1 square miles (24 km²) (3.0%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 78,265 people, 30,343 households, and 22,221 families residing in the county. The population density was 261.76 people per square mile (101/km²). There were 33,641 housing units at an average density of 112.51 per square mile (43.46/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.4% White, 5.5% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.7% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 6.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 30,343 households out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.4 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,456, and the median income for a family was $48,298. Males had a median income of $41,441 versus $30,480 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,861. About 10.4% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, as well as 25.3% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Lincoln County is a member of the regional Centralina Council of Governments.

Post-secondary education

High schools

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City

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Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Townships