2025

Cities in Rutherford County, NC ranked by Native American Population

This list ranks the 8 cities in Rutherford County based on their American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these cities over the past five years.
Updated Jan 24, 2025

Top 5 cities with the largest Native American population in Rutherford County

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  • 1
    Lake Lure
    Native American population in Lake Lure is 67
    3.89% of Lake Lure population is Native American
  • 2
    Spindale
    Native American population in Spindale is 52
    1.18% of Spindale population is Native American
  • 3
    Forest City
    Native American population in Forest City is 41
    0.51% of Forest City population is Native American
  • 4
    Rutherfordton
    Native American population in Rutherfordton is 21
    0.51% of Rutherfordton population is Native American
  • 5
    Ellenboro
    Native American population in Ellenboro is 13
    1.32% of Ellenboro population is Native American

List of 8 cities in Rutherford County, NC by Native American Population

View Methodology
Rank by Native American Population
City
Native American Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Rutherford County Native American Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Lake Lure 67 3.89% 32.68%
2 Spindale 52 1.18% 25.37%
3 Forest City 41 0.51% 20.00%
4 Rutherfordton 21 0.51% 10.24%
5 Ellenboro 13 1.32% 6.34%
6 Ruth 9 1.48% 4.39%
7 Bostic 2 0.54% 0.98%

List of cities with no Native American Population in Rutherford County, NC

According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the following cities in Rutherford County have no recorded Native American population*:
  • Chimney Rock Village
* These cities were not included in the ranking above, as they do not meet the population criteria. It is possible that a small population exists but was not reported or captured due to limitations or variations in Census data collection and reporting.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks cities in Rutherford County, NC by their American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Native American Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Native American, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Native American alone, while others identify as Native American along with another race (such as Native American and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Native American .
  • We’ve used the “Native American alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Native American population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Native American alone or in combination in cities. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Native American .
  2. % of Total Rutherford County Native American Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Native American population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Native American populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Cities that don’t have any reported Native American population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Native American populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.