Burke County, NC
Migration of people and income, 2022–2023 filing years
At a glance (2023)
Cost of living is the metro-area price level for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC.
The cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. The median home is valued at $170,500 (nominal). Home prices have risen about 70% over the five years to 2023. Median rent is about $805 a month. Unemployment averaged 3.3% in 2023 (national 3.6%). Median household income is $55,684. These figures describe all residents, not just tax filers, come from separate sources than the migration data on this page, and do not indicate why anyone moved.
Between the 2022 and 2023 filing years, Burke County, NC saw a net gain of 227 tax-filing households and a net gain of 695 individuals. Against a population of about 88,338, that is a net inflow of about 7.9 per 1,000 residents. On net, the area gained $24.9M in associated adjusted gross income (AGI, nominal dollars). The largest inflow, about 403 households, came from Catawba County; the largest outflow, about 421 households, went to Catawba County. In the prior (2022) filing year, the area saw a net gain of 713 individuals. These figures cover federal income tax filers only and do not indicate why people moved.
+7.9 net people per 1,000 residents (population 88,338)
Income (AGI) in and out
Burke County within North Carolina
Burke County is outlined, with arrows tracing its largest moves to and from other North Carolina counties. Hover any county for its figures; click to open it.
Where movers came from
- 1Catawba County, NC403$20.3M
- 2Caldwell County, NC287$11.5M
- 3McDowell County, NC169$8.6M
- 4Mecklenburg County, NC79$5.2M
- 5Buncombe County, NC66$4.4M
- 6Lincoln County, NC38$1.5M
- 7Rutherford County, NC35$1.6M
- 8Iredell County, NC34$1.9M
- 9Wake County, NC31$2.4M
- 10Alexander County, NC30$1.2M
Where movers went
- 1Catawba County, NC421$18.1M
- 2Caldwell County, NC296$13.7M
- 3McDowell County, NC92$5M
- 4Mecklenburg County, NC59$5.3M
- 5Buncombe County, NC57$3M
- 6Wake County, NC45$3.1M
- 7Lincoln County, NC30$1.4M
- 8Cleveland County, NC29$903K
- 9Rutherford County, NC24$1M
- 10Iredell County, NC20$1.6M
Churn by county · both directions at once
The biggest two-way exchanges of filing households, 2022–2023. Moved in and moved out are gross one-way counts; net is the difference. Click a column to sort.
| Catawba County, NC | 403 | 421 | -18 | +$2.2M |
| Caldwell County, NC | 287 | 296 | -9 | -$2.2M |
| McDowell County, NC | 169 | 92 | +77 | +$3.6M |
| Mecklenburg County, NC | 79 | 59 | +20 | -$42K |
| Buncombe County, NC | 66 | 57 | +9 | +$1.5M |
| Wake County, NC | 31 | 45 | -14 | -$736K |
| Lincoln County, NC | 38 | 30 | +8 | +$113K |
| Rutherford County, NC | 35 | 24 | +11 | +$559K |
| Iredell County, NC | 34 | 20 | +14 | +$314K |
| Cleveland County, NC | 22 | 29 | -7 | +$511K |
| Alexander County, NC | 30 | — | — | — |
| Gaston County, NC | 28 | — | — | — |
Counts are filing households (IRS returns), matching the lists above; income is nominal AGI. A dash means the IRS published only one direction of that exchange (small flows are suppressed), so no net is computed.
Net migration by year
| Year | Net AGI | Net people |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -$6.5M | -799 |
| 2013 | -$352K | -1,015 |
| 2014 | +$4.4M | -90 |
| 2015 | +$3.3M | +93 |
| 2016 | +$7.7M | +233 |
| 2017 | +$24.2M | +805 |
| 2018 | +$11.2M | +309 |
| 2019 | +$12.2M | +132 |
| 2020 | +$26.8M | +448 |
| 2021 | +$44.7M | +548 |
| 2022 | +$23.6M | +713 |
| 2023 | +$24.9M | +695 |
How big is this move, relative to the county?
In the 2022–2023 filing year, about 695 more people moved into Burke County, NC than left (counting tax filers and their dependents) — a net gain of about $24.9M in income (nominal) — in a county of 88,217 people.
The rate lets you compare Burke County, NC with a countyof any size: it’s the net flow divided by population. The IRS counts tax filers; population counts all residents, so read the rate as a scale indicator, not a literal share of people.
Components of population change · 2023 (Census)
Where the county’s overall change came from. Census counts all residents; the IRS migration above is one slice of the domestic-migration component.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. Figures are people, not tax filers.
What a dollar is worth here
Prices around Burke County, NC run about 11% below the national average. In plain terms: $100 spent here buys about what $112 buys in the average American community. The figures below apply that to income, each compared to the U.S. average of $70,002 per person.
Cost of living shown for the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area (BEA publishes price parities by metro, not by county).
Where the cost comes from · price parity by category
Index where 100 = U.S. average for that category. Housing is usually what separates one place from another.
Housing is measured from rents (including an estimated rental value for owner-occupied homes), so a run-up in purchase prices shows here only as it reaches rents. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer income above. How the data works.
The people of Burke County, NC
American Community Survey, 2019–2023 (a 5-year average of all residents, not just tax filers).
White, Black, and Asian counts are people who are not Hispanic or Latino; Hispanic or Latino can be of any race. Shares are rounded and may not total 100.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer data. A 5-year estimate is an average over 2019–2023; compare years at least five apart, since consecutive windows overlap. How the data works.
Housing · what it costs to live here (ACS 2019–2023)
A repeat-sales index (how much the same homes changed in price), so it tracks the market over time rather than the current level. Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency, annual all-transactions HPI; the county series is FHFA’s developmental index.
Units authorized by residential building permits (new supply), summed from counties for the state and U.S. Permits are authorizations, not completions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, not recent sale prices. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023), nominal dollars. How the data works.
Jobs and natural hazards
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS) and FEMA. A disaster declaration marks federal assistance eligibility, not damage severity, and says nothing about why anyone moved. How the data works.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS). Monthly unemployment for this county, not seasonally adjusted. Updated every month, so it moves faster than the annual average above. How the data works.
Elections
National maps →How Burke County, NC has voted. Certified returns, popular vote only. This is a separate dataset from the migration figures on this page.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 13,272 | 32,130 | 445 | R +41.1 | 45,847 |
| 2020 | 13,118 | 31,019 | 465 | R +40.1 | 44,602 |
| 2016 | 11,251 | 26,238 | 1,431 | R +38.5 | 38,920 |
| 2012 | 13,701 | 22,267 | 576 | R +23.4 | 36,544 |
| 2008 | 14,901 | 22,102 | 440 | R +19.2 | 37,443 |
| 2004 | 11,728 | 18,922 | 112 | R +23.4 | 30,762 |
| 2000 | 11,924 | 18,466 | 268 | R +21.3 | 30,658 |
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab county returns (CC0). Margins are the popular-vote gap as a share of all votes cast.
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