Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety27#11,355/15,637
Economy31#10,782/15,631
Housing—
Health0#15,552/15,609
Healthcare30#10,949/15,650
Environment94#942/15,453
Education32#10,636/15,649
Infrastructure29#11,153/15,650
Community58#6,642/15,651
Leisure & amenities99#217/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cherokee, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Swain County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Hot days · low0 days
100/100North Carolina 32 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSwain County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low81 min
99/100North Carolina 189 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSwain County value
Restaurants and bars · high20.7 /10k
99/100North Carolina 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSwain County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high17.1 /10k
98/100North Carolina 4.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSwain County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.1 /10k
93/100North Carolina 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSwain County value
Average commute time · low11.1 min
93/100North Carolina 25.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high86.2 /100k
0/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSwain County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high49.3%
1/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Premature death · high20,183 /100k
1/100North Carolina 9,400 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSwain County value
Life expectancy · low66.9 yrs
1/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSwain County value
Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100North Carolina 9.8United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSwain County value
Adult smoking · high25.1%
2/100North Carolina 16.2%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
60.2% (2015-2019) → 78.2% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
15.6% (2015-2019) → 24.5% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateWorsening
16.3% (2015-2019) → 24.4% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$40,982 (2015-2019) → $55,972 (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
9.2% (2015-2019) → 16.4% (2020-2024)
+7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
14.9% (2015-2019) → 21.3% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Cherokee, North Carolina improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+18 points60.2% → 78.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Cherokee, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	11.6 min2015-2019	11.1 min2020-2024	−0.5 min	Within the margin of error	53%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.6%2015-2019	24.5%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Broadband subscriptions	60.2%2015-2019	78.2%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	87%
High school diploma or higher	84.4%2015-2019	87.8%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	65%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4472015-2019	0.3762020-2024	−0.071	Within the margin of error	91%
Median household income	$40,9822015-2019	$55,9722020-2024	+37%	Within the margin of error	68%
Poverty rate	14.9%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	21.9%2015-2019	22.1%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	44.0%2015-2019	49.3%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	10%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Cherokee, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cherokee, North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Cherokee, North Carolina itself moved +10.5 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,059 residents (±472)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 women (+10.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

2,059 residents (±472)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White9.9%†203
Black1.9%†40
Hispanic or Latino3.1%†

Education

1,299 residents (±305)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma12%†158
High school or GED34%†440
Some college21%

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

937 households (±224)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k24%†225
$25k–50k20%†185
$50k–75k35%†324
$75k–100k7.9%†74
$100k–150k9.7%†91
$150k–200k2.1%†20
$200k or more1.9%†18

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

937 households (±224)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own63%587
Rent37%†350

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

256 households (±121)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $75025%†65
$750–1,00018%†46
$1,000–1,50024%†62

Home values

587 homes (±153)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k41%†241
$150k–250k17%†98
$250k–400k27%†

Age of homes

1,093 homes (±224)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later12%†131
2000–200918%†200
1980–199948%†

Size of homes

1,093 homes (±224)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio1.0%†11
1 bedroom4.9%†54
2 bedrooms28%†306

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

912 workers (±319)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone92%†842
Carpool1.6%†15
Public transit0.0%0
Walk5.2%†47
Bike0.0%0
Work from home0.0%0
Other0.9%†8

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (−6.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

912 workers (±319)

Cherokee, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min62%†566
15–29 min31%†281
30–44 min7.1%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Swain County, the county holding most of Cherokee's residents.

Swain County has 382 employer establishments, 274 for every 10,000 residents (1.10× the US rate of 248; 1.15× North Carolina's), with 3,724 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,075. The Census Bureau also counts 1,385 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 382; 1,385 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 274; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 3,724
Average annual pay: $42,075; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Swain County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	41	29.4	1.60×More than typical	479	$24,186	8
Specialty trade contractors	27	19.3	1.25×About typical	113	$59,159	156
Traveler accommodation	24	17.2	9.53×More than typical	153	$32,693	22
Construction of buildings	20	14.3	1.89×More than typical	82	$52,183	73
Full-service restaurants	19	13.6	1.77×More than typical	208	$29,308	—
Ambulatory health care services	17	12.2	0.58×Fewer than typical	145	$39,634	47
Lessors of real estate	16	11.5	0.93×About typical	56	$42,214	129
Religious organizations	14	10	1.81×More than typical	30	$18,100	—
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	13	9.3	3.50×More than typical	235	$43,362	20
Limited-service restaurants	13	9.3	1.16×About typical	232	$21,091	4
Other amusement and recreation industries	12	8.6	3.55×More than typical	233	$35,987	18
Gasoline stations	11	7.9	2.43×More than typical	47	$37,894	—

Rank places for an industry Open Swain County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 13,959 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $22.9K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cherokee, North Carolina: $11.12 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $22.9K; +59% vs FY2025
Per resident: $11.12; US $1,995
Sole-source: 17%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

National Park Service$13.5K59%
Forest Service$11.9K52%
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission$9684.2%
Federal Acquisition Service$5752.5%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

33.5KFY2017
35.7KFY2018
56.5KFY2019
26.8KFY2020
64.4KFY2021
27.6KFY2022
19KFY2023
57.2KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$13.5K59%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$9,29141%
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211$2,74412%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$2,33510%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$1,8578.1%
Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment manufacturing · 3334

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Cherokee, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Cherokee, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Swain County, NC and Jackson County, NC ($1.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Cherokee is mostly in Swain County.

See federal money in Swain County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Cherokee, North Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Chuck EdwardsR-NC-11 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 1.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Other cities and towns in Swain County

Largest first.

Bryson City381,902

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3712140

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends