City · Cleveland County, North Carolina

Kings Mountain, North Carolina

Kings Mountain is a city in Cleveland County, North Carolina, part of the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC metro area. It has 12,039 residents. Kings Mountain, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,904 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #414 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), mammography screening (high) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), life expectancy (low) and child poverty rate (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,904 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #414 of 458 in NC
Population: 12,039 (2020-2024)
Land area: 15 mi²
Density: 809.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 3735880

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety13#13,581/15,637
Economy10#14,013/15,631
Housing26#11,058/14,977
Health9#14,243/15,609
Healthcare25#11,806/15,650
Environment61#6,048/15,453
Education43#8,848/15,649
Infrastructure9#14,241/15,650
Community40#9,342/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,313/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Kings Mountain, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cleveland 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 · high17.5 /10k
96/100North Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCleveland County value
Mammography screening · high54.0%
88/100North Carolina 50.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCleveland County value
Pharmacies · high2.3 /10k
84/100North Carolina 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCleveland County value
Comfortable days · high30.3%
79/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCleveland County value
New homes permitted · high5.7 /1k
79/100North Carolina 8.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100North Carolina 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCleveland County value

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low81.2%
6/100North Carolina 90.1%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Life expectancy · low72.1 yrs
8/100North Carolina 76.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCleveland County value
Child poverty rate · high40.8%
10/100North Carolina 16.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.9 /10k
10/100North Carolina 4.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCleveland County value
Premature death · high12,508 /100k
11/100North Carolina 9,400 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCleveland County value
Poverty rate · high23.0%
11/100North Carolina 12.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

PopulationRising
11,028 (2015-2019) → 12,039 (2020-2024)
+9.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.4% (2015-2019) → 81.2% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
53.5% (2015-2019) → 70.3% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
15.0 /1k (2021) → 5.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−62%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
31.1% (2015-2019) → 41.5% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
17.2% (2015-2019) → 9.3% (2020-2024)
−7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Kings Mountain, North Carolina improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved3

Uninsured−7.8 points17.2% → 9.3%
Broadband+18 points63.4% → 81.2%
Household income+26%$39,195 → $49,564

Declined2

Rent / income+10 points31.1% → 41.5%
Price / income+1.0×3.2× → 4.1×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Kings Mountain, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.2 min2015-2019	25.2 min2020-2024	+2.0 min	Within the margin of error	28%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.5%2015-2019	17.8%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Broadband subscriptions	63.4%2015-2019	81.2%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	86%
Child poverty rate	42.5%2015-2019	40.8%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Effective property tax rate	0.91%2015-2019	0.69%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	62%
High school diploma or higher	84.0%2015-2019	88.4%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	24%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4562015-2019	0.4632020-2024	+0.007	Within the margin of error	44%
Median household income	$39,1952015-2019	$49,5642020-2024	+26%	Improved	47%
Poverty rate	25.6%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Rent as share of income	31.1%2015-2019	41.5%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	9%
Rent-burdened households	53.5%2015-2019	70.3%2020-2024	+17 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Unemployment rate	12.2%2015-2019	7.7%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.2%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	−7.8 points	Improved	94%

“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 Kings Mountain, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kings Mountain, 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, Kings Mountain, North Carolina itself moved −4.8 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

12,039 residents (±443)

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

4,633 households (±367)

Kings Mountain, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k26%1,193
$25k–50k25%†1,158
$50k–75k17%773

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,633 households (±367)

Kings Mountain, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own62%2,875
Rent38%1,758

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

5,206 workers (±589)

Kings Mountain, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone84%4,378
Carpool6.7%†349
Public transit0.0%†

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 Shelby-Kings Mountain, 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 Cleveland County, the county holding most of Kings Mountain's residents.

Cleveland County has 2,028 employer establishments, 200 for every 10,000 residents (0.80× the US rate of 248; 0.84× North Carolina's), with 30,800 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,898. The Census Bureau also counts 7,120 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,028; 7,120 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 200; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 30,800
Average annual pay: $46,898; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	161	15.8	2.86×More than typical	753	$20,367	—
Restaurants and other eating places	152	15	0.81×About typical	2,770	$17,840	32
Ambulatory health care services	140	13.8	0.66×Fewer than typical	2,216	$70,131	280
Specialty trade contractors	132	13	0.84×About typical	989	$60,408	525
Lessors of real estate	83	8.2	0.66×Fewer than typical	189	$46,217	470
Limited-service restaurants	77	7.6	0.94×About typical	1,573	$17,339	10
Gasoline stations	65	6.4	1.97×More than typical	299	$24,271	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	64	6.3	0.93×About typical	566	$34,777	677
Full-service restaurants	62	6.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	1,031	$18,503	10
Building equipment contractors	60	5.9	0.98×About typical	395	$56,119	87
Automotive repair and maintenance	58	5.7	1.13×About typical	294	$41,187	148
Offices of physicians	55	5.4	0.84×About typical	915	$94,929	20

Rank places for an industry Open Cleveland County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 101,606 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 $1,472 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Kings Mountain, North Carolina: $0.12 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $1,472
Per resident: $0.12; US $1,995
Sole-source: 100%; 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

Department of the Army$8,080100%
Department of the Navy$6,019100%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$4,523100%

Top recipients

S365 INC$8,080100%
PIONEER MOTOR BEARING COMPANY$6,019100%
KINGS MOUNTAIN INTERNATIONAL, INC.$4,523100%
DERCO AEROSPACE, INC.$00.0%
TRIAD TECHNOLOGIES LLC-$17.1K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

95.6KFY2017
138.5KFY2018
151.2KFY2019
362.6KFY2020
75.2KFY2021
43.7KFY2022
55.9KFY2023
95.5K

Top industries (NAICS)

Special food services · 7223$8,080100%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$6,019100%
Metalworking machinery manufacturing · 3335$4,523100%

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 Kings Mountain, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Kings Mountain, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Cleveland County, NC and Gaston County, NC ($10.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Cleveland 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.

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

House

Tim MooreR-NC-14 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.3%

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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC18

Other cities and towns in Cleveland 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/3735880

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends