People QuickFacts Cherokee County North Carolina Population, 2012 estimate 26,992 9,752,073 Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 27,444 9,535,471 Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012 -1.6% 2.3% Population, 2010 27,444 9,535,483 Persons under 5 years, percent, 2011 4.6% 6.5% Persons under 18 years, percent, 2011 18.6% 23.7% Persons 65 years and over, percent, 2011 24.0% 13.2% Female persons, percent, 2011 51.4% 51.3%  White persons, percent, 2011 (a) 94.1% 72.1% Black persons, percent, 2011 (a) 1.5% 22.0% American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2011 (a) 1.4% 1.5% Asian persons, percent, 2011 (a) 0.5% 2.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander persons, percent, 2011 (a) 0.1% 0.1% Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2011 2.4% 1.9% Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent, 2011 (b) 2.6% 8.6% White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2011 92.0% 65.0%  Living in same house 1 year & over, percent, 2007-2011 91.6% 83.9% Foreign born persons, percent, 2007-2011 2.6% 7.4% Language other than English spoken at home, percent age 5+, 2007-2011 4.4% 10.6% High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-2011 81.7% 84.1% Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-2011 15.2% 26.5% Veterans, 2007-2011 2,906 743,377 Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2007-2011 22.9 23.4  Housing units, 2011 17,682 4,362,740 Homeownership rate, 2007-2011 83.1% 67.8% Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2007-2011 3.6% 17.0% Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2007-2011 $155,500 $152,700 Households, 2007-2011 11,400 3,664,119 Persons per household, 2007-2011 2.37 2.50 Per capita money income in the past 12 months (2011 dollars), 2007-2011 $20,451 $25,256 Median household income, 2007-2011 $38,621 $46,291 Persons below poverty level, percent, 2007-2011 13.4% 16.1%     Business QuickFacts Cherokee County North Carolina Private nonfarm establishments, 2010 611 218,104 Private nonfarm employment, 2010 6,134 3,234,595 Private nonfarm employment, percent change, 2000-2010 -35.6 -4.5 Nonemployer establishments, 2010 2,185 640,686  Total number of firms, 2007 2,815 798,791 Black-owned firms, percent, 2007 1.0% 10.5% American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent, 2007 S 1.0% Asian-owned firms, percent, 2007 F 2.5% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent, 2007 F 0.1% Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2007 F 2.7% Women-owned firms, percent, 2007 28.0% 28.2%  Manufacturers shipments, 2007 ($1000) 265,366 205,867,299 Merchant wholesaler sales, 2007 ($1000) 60,509 88,795,885 Retail sales, 2007 ($1000) 404,019 114,578,173 Retail sales per capita, 2007 $15,242 $12,641 Accommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000) 36,834 16,126,939 Building permits, 2011 87 32,804     Geography QuickFacts Cherokee County North Carolina Land area in square miles, 2010 455.43 48,617.91 Persons per square mile, 2010 60.3 196.1 FIPS Code 039 37 Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area None   (a) Includes persons reporting only one race. (b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories. FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data NA: Not available D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information X: Not applicable S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown F: Fewer than 100 firms Source: US Census Bureau State & County QuickFacts