Groundwork

Real estate · County · North Carolina

Real estate businesses in Cherokee County, NC

How Cherokee County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 31 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #2,053 of 2,229 scored counties
#79 of 90 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
57
4 chain locations (7%)
Official establishments
25
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$174.7M
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,191 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
71
29% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
43.0
12% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
30,830
+6.8% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Cherokee County

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Cherokee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Cherokee County scores 31 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #2,053 of 2,229 scored counties and #79 of 90 scored counties in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Cherokee County comes to about $174.7M a year: $13,191 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 29% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

Cherokee County has 57 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (7%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 43.0, 12% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.

In 2023, official counts showed 25 businesses with payroll in Cherokee County classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 530 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Population estimates show Cherokee County grew 6.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Cherokee County compares

The same measures for North Carolina and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Cherokee County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCherokee CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households43.037.838.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)7192100
Households per official establishment530378414
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+20.8%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.8%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,191$15,139$16,661
Median household income$53,628$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score3140

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
25 → 250.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
52
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
148Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
574 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
40The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Cherokee County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Cherokee County

Population, 2025 estimate
30,830+6.8% since 2020
Households
13,241
Median age
53.1
Homes lived in by their owners
84%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
456 sq. mi.
People per square mile
65
Median household income
$53,628+29.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$68,893
Median home value
$232,300
Jobs located here
7,860
Daytime population
26,424Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cherokee County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Cherokee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Real estate across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Cherokee County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Duplin County, NC78178.2374+6.0%#52 of 2,229
2Perquimans County, NC7658.9369+3.6%#80 of 2,229
3Camden County, NC76615.0244+8.8%#90 of 2,229
4Yadkin County, NC75117.3445+2.9%#95 of 2,229
5Hoke County, NC752412.5264+9.0%#106 of 2,229
6Franklin County, NC753713.0263+18.8%#108 of 2,229
7Sampson County, NC71219.7312+4.1%#182 of 2,229
8Person County, NC712012.5264+3.7%#187 of 2,229
9Davidson County, NC7010014.3229+6.6%#208 of 2,229
10Rowan County, NC677512.7259+5.6%#298 of 2,229
79Cherokee County, NC315743.071+6.8%#2,053 of 2,229

Other business types in Cherokee County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Cherokee County, NC?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 57 real estate businesses in Cherokee County. 4 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 148 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Cherokee County, NC spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $174.7M a year, or $13,191 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 57 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 29% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,241 households in Cherokee County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cherokee County, NC compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Cherokee County has 43.0 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 71, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Cherokee County would have about 40, against 57 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 530 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is Cherokee County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Cherokee County at 30,830 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,241 households. Median household income in Cherokee County is $53,628, 34% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.4%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Cherokee County scores 31 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #2,053 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cherokee County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Cherokee County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cherokee County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Cherokee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.