Cherokee County, North Carolina

Cherokee County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 24,298. Its is.

History
The county was formed in from the western part of. It was named for the people, some of whom still live in the area.

In the southeastern part of Cherokee County became ; in  its northeastern part became.

Law and government
Cherokee County is a member of the regional council of governments.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,209 (467 ). 1,179 km² (455 sq mi) of it is land and 30 km² (11 sq mi) of it (2.46%) is water.

Natural Landscape
Located in the southern Mountains, Cherokee County contains a varied natural landscape. Portions of the county fall within the boundaries of the, and the - a tributary of the  - flows through the county from southeast to northwest.

In April, parts of Cherokee County were affected by a historic weather event - the of tornadoes, which affected parts of 13 states and was the largest such event to be recorded in the U.S.

Townships
The county is divided into six : Beaverdam, Hothouse, Murphy, Notla, Shoal Creek, and Valleytown.

Adjacent Counties

 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south-southeast
 * - south-southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest

Transportation
Cherokee County is well-known in as the westernmost of the state's 100 counties. Several US and state highways serve the county, linking it with other regions of North Carolina, along with the neighboring states of and.

- the longest highway in North Carolina, and a cross-country highway - passes through the county east-west. , which links Chattanooga, Asheville, Charlotte and Wilmington, is a major 4-lane highway through the county. and also pass through Cherokee County, providing connections to Atlanta (to the south) and Knoxville (to the north).

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 24,298 people, 10,336 households, and 7,369 families residing in the county. The was 21/km² (53/sq mi). There were 13,499 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (30/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 94.82%, 1.59% or , 1.63% , 0.28% , 0.01% , 0.45% from , and 1.21% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were or  of any race. 34.3% were of, 10.8% , 10.6% and 10.3%  ancestry according to. 97.7% spoke and 1.2%  as their first language.

There were 10,336 households out of which 25.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the county the population was spread out with 20.60% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 28.80% from 45 to 64, and 19.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,992, and the median income for a family was $33,768. Males had a median income of $26,127 versus $18,908 for females. The for the county was $15,814. About 11.70% of families and 15.30% of the population were below the, including 19.20% of those under age 18 and 18.00% of those age 65 or over.