City · Catawba County, North Carolina

Conover, North Carolina

Conover is a city in Catawba County, North Carolina, part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area. It has 8,580 residents. Conover, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 41 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,306 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #220 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), child care cost burden (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on hospital quality rating (low), drug overdose deaths (high) and uninsured residents (under 65) (high).

41Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,306 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #220 of 458 in NC
Population: 8,580 (2020-2024)
Land area: 12 mi²
Density: 730.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 3714340

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety19#12,657/15,637
Economy44#8,777/15,631
Housing43#8,546/14,977
Health22#12,243/15,609
Healthcare34#10,268/15,650
Environment78#3,444/15,453
Education37#9,931/15,649
Infrastructure62#5,909/15,650
Community54#7,122/15,651
Leisure & amenities59#6,356/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Conover, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Catawba 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

Social associations · high14.6 /10k
90/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCatawba County value
Child care cost burden · low21.7%
89/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCatawba County value
Average commute time · low18.7 min
88/100North Carolina 25.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCatawba County value
Natural hazard risk · low12.3
80/100North Carolina 45.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCatawba County value
Comfortable days · high30.4%
80/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCatawba County value

Weaknesses

Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100North Carolina 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCatawba County value
Drug overdose deaths · high29.2 /100k
10/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCatawba County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high17.1%
14/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Homicide rate · high7.3 /100k
16/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCatawba County value
Life expectancy · low74.1 yrs
19/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCatawba County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high204 min
20/100North Carolina 189 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCatawba County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
30.6% (2015-2019) → 55.5% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.8× (2015-2019) → 4.1× (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
22.3% (2015-2019) → 30.9% (2020-2024)
+8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.6% (2015-2019) → 91.3% (2020-2024)
+5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$52,237 (2015-2019) → $65,972 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
19.1% (2015-2019) → 23.8% (2020-2024)
+4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Conover, North Carolina improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 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

Household income+26%$52,237 → $65,972

Declined3

Rent burden+25 points30.6% → 55.5%
Rent / income+8.6 points22.3% → 30.9%
Price / income+1.3×2.8× → 4.1×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Conover, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.3 min2015-2019	18.7 min2020-2024	+0.4 min	Within the margin of error	43%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.1%2015-2019	23.8%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Broadband subscriptions	85.6%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Child poverty rate	16.1%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Effective property tax rate	0.78%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
High school diploma or higher	86.6%2015-2019	86.9%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+1.3×	Declined	13%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4362015-2019	0.4012020-2024	−0.034	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$52,2372015-2019	$65,9722020-2024	+26%	Improved	47%
Poverty rate	13.6%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Rent as share of income	22.3%2015-2019	30.9%2020-2024	+8.6 points	Declined	12%
Rent-burdened households	30.6%2015-2019	55.5%2020-2024	+25 points	Declined	5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.7%2015-2019	17.1%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	12%

“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 Conover, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Conover, 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, Conover, North Carolina itself moved −11.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

8,580 residents (±22)

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: Under 10 men (+4.0 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

8,580 residents (±22)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White68%5,827
Black3.3%†282
Hispanic or Latino22%†1,908

Education

5,317 residents (±441)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma13%†698
High school or GED32%1,726
Some college21%1,129

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

3,275 households (±257)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k15%†503
$25k–50k27%†898
$50k–75k14%†474
$75k–100k19%†630
$100k–150k16%†518
$150k–200k3.8%†126
$200k or more3.8%†126

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−10.0 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 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

3,275 households (±257)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own69%2,260
Rent31%1,015

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

Table view

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

Rent paid

987 households (±220)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $75017%†163
$750–1,00046%†454
$1,000–1,50024%†233

Home values

2,260 homes (±328)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k15%†329
$150k–250k30%†675
$250k–400k36%815

Age of homes

3,581 homes (±286)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later4.6%†163
2000–200924%†860
1980–199938%1,348

Size of homes

3,581 homes (±286)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio0.5%†19
1 bedroom5.1%†183
2 bedrooms33%1,174

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

3,416 workers (±329)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone75%2,553
Carpool19%†659
Public transit0.0%†1
Walk0.4%†12
Bike1.3%†45
Work from home4.1%†139
Other0.2%†7

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−11.4 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

3,277 workers (±327)

Conover, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min44%1,453
15–29 min34%1,111
30–44 min16%†536

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

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC

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 Catawba County, the county holding most of Conover's residents.

Catawba County has 4,349 employer establishments, 264 for every 10,000 residents (1.06× the US rate of 248; 1.11× North Carolina's), with 85,704 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,893. The Census Bureau also counts 13,133 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,349; 13,133 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 264; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 85,704
Average annual pay: $52,893; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	328	19.9	1.08×About typical	6,954	$20,052	64
Ambulatory health care services	276	16.7	0.80×About typical	4,500	$65,692	545
Specialty trade contractors	270	16.4	1.06×About typical	1,979	$56,185	949
Religious organizations	205	12.4	2.24×More than typical	1,278	$22,930	—
Lessors of real estate	195	11.8	0.96×About typical	647	$38,015	1,420
Limited-service restaurants	141	8.6	1.07×About typical	2,873	$18,551	28
Full-service restaurants	132	8	1.04×About typical	3,411	$22,074	20
Construction of buildings	122	7.4	0.98×About typical	542	$70,411	479
Services to buildings and dwellings	114	6.9	1.03×About typical	709	$35,347	1,027
Building equipment contractors	113	6.9	1.14×About typical	1,045	$57,071	167
Truck transportation	112	6.8	1.34×More than typical	2,877	$56,303	276
Automotive repair and maintenance	105	6.4	1.26×More than typical	630	$46,238	250

Rank places for an industry Open Catawba County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 164,901 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 $125.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Conover, North Carolina: $14.58 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $125.1K; −55% vs FY2025
Per resident: $14.58; US $1,994
Sole-source: 91%; US 30%
Single offer: 8.6%; 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

Department of State$83.7K67%
Department of the Navy$36.5K29%
Department of Veterans Affairs$4,4983.6%
Social Security Administration$1,2281.0%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$4310.3%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

189.3KFY2017
94.5KFY2018
157.4KFY2019
126.5KFY2020
39.6KFY2021
85.5KFY2022
191.4KFY2023
279.4K

Top industries (NAICS)

Household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing · 3371$63.5K51%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$36.5K29%
Office furniture (including fixtures) manufacturing · 3372$19.8K16%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$4,4973.6%
Business support services · 5614$1,2281.0%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 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 Conover, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Catawba 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.

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

House

Pat HarriganR-NC-10 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.8%

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.

Catawba County63100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC46

Other cities and towns in Catawba County

Largest first.

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/3714340

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends