Forest City, NC Micro Area
The Forest City, NC micro area is one county in North Carolina: Rutherford County. About 65,745 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 2.0% more than in April 2020.
- Population, July 2025
- 65,745 2.0% more than in April 2020
- Type
- Micropolitan statistical area
- County
- Rutherford County
- Land area
- 565 sq mi (1,464 km²)
- Time zone
- Eastern TimeUTC-05:00 in January; UTC-04:00 in July
- State
- North Carolina
- CBSA code
- 22580
The county in the Forest City, NC micro area
| County | Role | Population, July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Rutherford County | Central | 65,745 |
A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of 10,000 to 49,999 people. This area has no outlying counties: no neighboring county sends enough commuters to join it. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.
Principal city
- Forest City7,363 people
OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first
Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.
- Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC Micro Area19 mi east
- Gaffney, SC Micro Area22 mi southeast
- Marion, NC Micro Area25 mi north
- Spartanburg, SC Metro Area27 mi south
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metro Area42 mi northeast
- Asheville, NC Metro Area42 mi northwest
Before using this answer on a form
A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.
Find the metro area where you are now, find your county, or see every metro and micro area by population.