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December 1 2022

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Deborah Murray

Executive Director Caldwell County EDC

The 2023 North Carolina Tier Designations were released Wednesday by the NC Department of Commerce.  Ten of North Carolina’s 100 counties changed rankings.  Caldwell County moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2.  Caldwell County’s overall ranking was 42.

Caldwell County continued to show anticipated gains in three categories.  The county ranked 45 out of 100 counties with a $101,659 Adjusted Property Tax Base Per Capita. Caldwell showed a very strong 16.15 % year over year growth.  The county showed 43% growth over the last eight years (since 2014).

Population growth has been slow to take hold in Caldwell County, but the county managed to document 0.24 % growth year over year.  The county ranked 41st in this category.

Median Household income is a significant reason for Caldwell’s growth showing a 15.94% year over year growth.  Since 2014 Caldwell residents have seen a 44% growth in median household income.

Unemployment has been key to Caldwell’s comeback since the Great Recession and the pandemic.  Caldwell posted an annual 3.6% unemployment rate ranking 54 in the Tier rankings for 2023.

Designations are based on four rankings for each county with the total score classifying each county as a Tier 1 (the forty most economically distressed counties), Tier 2 (the next 40 less economically distressed counties or Tier 3 (the state’s 20 least economically distressed counties).

Tier Rankings are based on four measurements:  Adjusted Property Tax Base per Capita for the most recent fiscal year (FY 2021-2022); Percentage Growth in Population for the most recent 36 months (July 2017 through July 2020); Median Household Income for the most recent twelve months for which data is available (2019 US Census Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates); and Average Unemployment rate for the most recent twelve months (October 2020 to September 2021).