Burke County, North Carolina

Burke County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2020, 87,570 people lived there. Its county seat is Morganton.

Burke County
County
Burke County Courthouse
Motto:  "All About Advancing"
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°44′46″N 81°42′22″W
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1777
Named for	Thomas Burke
Seat	Morganton
Largest community	Morganton
Area
• Total	514.24 sq mi (1,331.9 km2)
• Land	506.24 sq mi (1,311.2 km2)
• Water	8.00 sq mi (20.7 km2)  1.56%
Population  (2020)
• Total	87,570
• Density	172.98/sq mi (66.79/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	10th
Website	www.burkenc.org

History

The county was made in 1777 from Rowan County. In 1791 parts of Burke County and Rutherford County were made into Buncombe County. In 1833 parts of Burke County and Buncombe County were made into Yancey County. In 1841 parts of Burke County and Wilkes County were made into Caldwell County. In 1842 more parts of Burke County and Rutherford County were made into McDowell County. And in 1861 parts of Burke County, Caldwell County, McDowell County, Watauga County, and Yancey County were made into Mitchell County.

Government

Burke County is part of the local Western Piedmont Council of Governments.

Connected counties

These counties are connected to Burke County:

• Caldwell County, North Carolina - north
• Catawba County, North Carolina - east
• Cleveland County, North Carolina - south-southeast
• Rutherford County, North Carolina - south-southwest
• McDowell County, North Carolina - west
• Avery County, North Carolina - northwest

Cities and towns

These cities and towns are in Burke County:

• Connelly Springs
• Drexel
• Glen Alpine
• Hildebran
• Morganton
• Rhodhiss
• Rutherford College
• Valdese

Other websites

• Burke County government official website Archived 2014-07-29 at the Wayback Machine