Town · Caldwell County, North Carolina

Gamewell, North Carolina

Gamewell is a town in Caldwell County, North Carolina, part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area. It has 3,689 residents. Gamewell, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 20 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,449 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #344 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), days with unhealthy air (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), drug overdose deaths (high) and firearm deaths (high).

20Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,449 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #344 of 458 in NC
Population: 3,689 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 455.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 3725380

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.

Safety23#11,970/15,637
Economy16#13,075/15,631
Housing63#5,578/14,977
Health6#14,596/15,609
Healthcare15#13,275/15,650
Environment85#2,313/15,453
Education19#12,730/15,649
Infrastructure24#11,839/15,650
Community54#7,191/15,651
Leisure & amenities16#13,180/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Effective property tax rate · low0.33%
96/100North Carolina 0.66%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCaldwell County value
Social associations · high13.2 /10k
83/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value
Median Air Quality Index · low36
82/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCaldwell County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100North Carolina 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCaldwell County value
Child care cost burden · low25.6%
72/100North Carolina 25.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low4.0%
1/100North Carolina 35.7%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Drug overdose deaths · high41.0 /100k
3/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCaldwell County value
Firearm deaths · high26.1 /100k
5/100North Carolina 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCaldwell County value
Life expectancy · low71.9 yrs
7/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value
Premature death · high13,372 /100k
7/100North Carolina 9,400 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high22.7%
8/100North Carolina 10.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
3,987 (2015-2019) → 3,689 (2020-2024)
−7.5%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
20.5% (2015-2019) → 36.9% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
23.4% (2015-2019) → 39.8% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.2× (2015-2019) → 3.7× (2020-2024)
+65%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
16.7% (2015-2019) → 28.9% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
25.1 min (2015-2019) → 39.7 min (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Gamewell, North Carolina improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 1 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+10 points80.1% → 90.5%

Declined1

Rent / income+12 points16.7% → 28.9%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Gamewell, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.1 min2015-2019	39.7 min2020-2024	+14.6 min	Within the margin of error	1%
Broadband subscriptions	80.1%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	62%
Child poverty rate	20.5%2015-2019	36.9%2020-2024	+16 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Effective property tax rate	0.64%2015-2019	0.33%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	75%
High school diploma or higher	74.8%2015-2019	80.1%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3872015-2019	0.4022020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$46,0572015-2019	$46,5562020-2024	+1.1%	Within the margin of error	8%
Poverty rate	14.1%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	16.7%2015-2019	28.9%2020-2024	+12 points	Declined	7%
Rent-burdened households	23.4%2015-2019	39.8%2020-2024	+16 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	18.7%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	14%

“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 Gamewell, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Gamewell, 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, Gamewell, North Carolina itself moved −15.2 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

3,689 residents (±15)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

1,439 households (±168)

Gamewell, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k25%†357
$25k–50k26%†381
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,439 households (±168)

Gamewell, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own61%880
Rent39%†559

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,737 workers (±318)

Gamewell, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone58%†1,016
Carpool39%†680
Public transit

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 Caldwell County, the county holding most of Gamewell's residents.

Caldwell County has 1,414 employer establishments, 175 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.74× North Carolina's), with 23,930 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,214. The Census Bureau also counts 5,443 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,414; 5,443 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 175; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 23,930
Average annual pay: $48,214; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	123	15.2	0.83×About typical	2,202	$16,498	19
Religious organizations	92	11.4	2.06×More than typical	421	$19,276	—
Specialty trade contractors	92	11.4	0.74×Fewer than typical	429	$46,921	571
Ambulatory health care services	66	8.2	0.39×Fewer than typical	2,513	$62,537	168
Limited-service restaurants	62	7.7	0.96×About typical	1,393	$16,786	6
Services to buildings and dwellings	50	6.2	0.92×About typical	309	$39,984	598
Full-service restaurants	48	6	0.77×Fewer than typical	670	$16,531	11
Automotive repair and maintenance	47	5.8	1.16×About typical	236	$34,419	151
Lessors of real estate	46	5.7	0.46×Fewer than typical	76	$44,895	396
Gasoline stations	43	5.3	1.64×More than typical	270	$18,996	—
Building equipment contractors	42	5.2	0.87×About typical	195	$48,174	82
Construction of buildings	38	4.7	0.62×Fewer than typical	248	$55,887	293

Rank places for an industry Open Caldwell County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 80,659 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 $10.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Gamewell, North Carolina: $2.83 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $10.4K; +16% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.83; US $1,995
Sole-source: 82%; US 30%
Single offer: 15%; 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 the Army$7,88276%
Department of State$2,54924%

Top recipients

GREER LABORATORIES, INC.$6,99967%
BERNHARDT FURNITURE CO$2,02219%
KEILHAUER LTD$5275.1%
S365 INC$5255.0%
135 FOODS INC$3563.4%
TROYSGATE HUMAN PERFORMANCE SYSTEMS, LLC

Spending by fiscal year

60.2KFY2017
26KFY2018
31.9KFY2019
18.1KFY2020
102.1KFY2021
22.4KFY2022
5.4KFY2023
3.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254$6,99967%
Household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing · 3371$1,57415%
Special food services · 7223$8818.4%
Office furniture (including fixtures) manufacturing · 3372$7337.0%
Electric lighting equipment manufacturing · 3351$1991.9%
Textile and fabric finishing and fabric coating mills · 3133$43.75

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Gamewell, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Gamewell, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Caldwell County, NC ($3.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Caldwell 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.

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

House

Virginia FoxxR-NC-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.4%

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.

Caldwell County39100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC46

Other cities and towns in Caldwell 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/3725380

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends