Iredell County, North Carolina

Iredell County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 122,660. Its is. It is a major hub of racing, with many race shops located in the county (mostly around ). NASCAR also operates the in the county. Many NASCAR drivers live around and. Although northern Iredell County has retained much of its rural character, the southern half of the county is experiencing rapid urbanization and population growth, largely due to the immense popularity of the Lake Norman area for residents of nearby, North Carolina's largest city.

Iredell County is an important transportation center for the state, as both and  cross just north of. This has given birth to the county's nickname "Crossroads of the Future." Residents have easy access south down I-77 to, north to and , east to  and , and west along I-40 to , and.

Farming is still a major source of income for many Iredell county residents, in both the southern and northern portions of the county. Dairy farming has been particularly popular in Iredell County for centuries. However, the rapid population growth in southern Iredell County is putting increasing pressure on farmlands, and soaring land prices has led increasing numbers of farmers to sell their land to developers.

History
The county was formed in from. It was named for, an advocate of ratification of the , who was appointed an associate justice of the by  in.

In parts of Iredell County,, and  were combined to form.

Law and government
Iredell County is a member of the regional.

Iredell County is governed by the Board of Commissioners, consisting of five commissioners elected at large.

IREDELL COUNTY COMMISIONERS (2006-2008):


 * Marvin Norman (Chairman)
 * Shara Hare-Tice (Vice-Chairwoman)
 * Ken Robertson
 * Steve Johnson
 * Godfrey Wiliams

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,546 (597 ). 1,491 km² (576 sq mi) of it is land and 56 km² (21 sq mi) of it (3.59%) is water.

Iredell County is located within the Region of central North Carolina. The northwestern section of the county contains the, a deeply eroded spur of the far to the west. Although the "Brushies", as they are called locally, rarely rise above 2,000 feet, they stand out prominently above the surrounding lower terrain. The remainder of Iredell County consists of gently rolling countryside occasionally broken by low hills and small river valleys. The county's largest river, the, forms much of its western border. , one of North Carolina's largest manmade lakes, is the most prominent geographic feature of southern Iredell County.

Iredell County is one of the longest counties in the state and stretches for nearly fifty miles north to south from Yadkin County in the north to Mecklenburg in the south.

The northern third of Iredell county is highly and contains no large towns. Due to the thinly-populated nature of this portion of the state, it is one of only a few places in North Carolina where the speed limit on exceeds 65 mph, as  north of  has a speed limit of 70 mph.

Townships
The county is divided into sixteen : Barringer, Bethany, Chambersburg, Concord, Coddle Creek, Cool Springs, Davidson, Eagle Mills, Fallstown, New Hope, Olin, Sharpesburg, Shiloh, Statesville, Turnersburg, and.

Adjacent Counties

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

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 122,660 people, 47,360 households, and 34,667 families residing in the county. The was 82/km² (213/sq mi). There were 51,918 housing units at an average density of 35/km² (90/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 82.17%, 13.67% or , 0.27% , 1.27% , 0.02% , 1.68% from , and 0.94% from two or more races. 3.41% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 47,360 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were living together, 11.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.80% were non-families. 22.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,920, and the median income for a family was $49,078. Males had a median income of $34,590 versus $24,031 for females. The for the county was $21,148. About 6.20% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the, including 10.10% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns


is partly in Iredell County.