Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC Micro Area

The Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC micro area is one county in North Carolina: Cleveland County. About 103,325 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 3.8% more than in April 2020.

Cleveland County, centralShelbyKings Mountain
Cleveland County in North Carolina
Population, July 2025
103,325 3.8% more than in April 2020
Type
Micropolitan statistical area
County
Cleveland County
Land area
464 sq mi (1,202 km²)
Time zone
Eastern TimeUTC-05:00 in January; UTC-04:00 in July
State
North Carolina
Combined statistical area
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC
CBSA code
43140

The county in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC micro area

CountyRolePopulation, July 2025
Cleveland CountyCentral103,325

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 cities, largest first

  1. Shelby22,100 people
  2. Kings Mountain12,039 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.

Part of the Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC combined statistical area

OMB joins neighboring metro and micro areas into a combined statistical area when enough people commute between them. The other 4 areas in this one, largest first:

  1. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area2,938,830 people
  2. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metro Area376,890 people
  3. Albemarle, NC Micro Area68,830 people
  4. Marion, NC Micro Area45,198 people

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.

  1. Gaffney, SC Micro Area16 mi southwest
  2. Forest City, NC Micro Area19 mi west
  3. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metro Area33 mi north
  4. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area41 mi east

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.

See this area on Census.gov ↗