BethlehemNC
A town of 4,101.
Is Bethlehem a good place to live?
Bethlehem gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $327K for a typical one, or 5.2 years of the Hickory metro’s $63K median household income. It grades B overall, 65th of 286 graded towns in North Carolina. 13% of residents are under 18 in Bethlehem, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 22%. The biggest park or preserve is Wittenburg Access Park, at 26 acres. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 70% of U.S. towns.
96% of working residents leave Bethlehem for work
Where Bethlehem’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Bethlehem grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Bethlehem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Bethlehem: who provides what
Bethlehem is unincorporated, so Alexander County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of North Carolina; it also has little public open land.
With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Bethlehem’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Bethlehem for work: only 4% work in town. 4.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Bethlehem. Jobs based in Bethlehem grew to 822 in 2023, 76 more than in 2013.
| Bethlehem | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $88,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On state tests, Bethlehem’s schools beat 57% of North Carolina districts
Its public schools are run by the Alexander County Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 435 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Older than North Carolina overall
The median age in Bethlehem is 52.7 years. 43% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across North Carolina. 28% of Bethlehem residents are 65 or older.
| Bethlehem | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 52.7 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 28% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 57% are men (NC 46%).
| Bethlehem | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.5% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.8% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.5% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.2% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.7% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.5% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.9% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.5% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32.2% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.1% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,100, single groups can be off by several points
Mild winters and hot summers in Bethlehem
July afternoons average 88°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 79% of North Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 28.7°.
Bethlehem has mild winters and warm summers. Snow is almost unheard of. Bethlehem’s January low is 29°F.
| Bethlehem | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 29°F | 31°F | 22°F |
| July high | 88°F | 89°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On CDC estimates, Bethlehem is healthier than 58% of U.S. towns
Bethlehem beats the North Carolina average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4.
| Bethlehem | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Bethlehem | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.8% | 8.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.8% | 12.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Moderate risk in Bethlehem, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Bethlehem since 2013.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median home in Bethlehem sells for about $490K
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Conserved land covers 0% of Bethlehem
Just 0 of its 5,656 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Bethlehem itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wittenburg Access Park | — | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Bethlehem
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Bethlehem
About 7 of every 100 Bethlehem residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
About Bethlehem
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
Bethlehem is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alexander County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,214 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,125 ft
Bethlehem’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Bethlehem.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | #65 | B | B | — | B | B |
| St. Stephens | #106 | B− | B− | — | B | B− |
Bethlehem and St. Stephens report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bethlehem with a neighbor →
Questions about Bethlehem
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bethlehem, NC a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Bethlehem grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #65 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B for health and B for schools.
Is Bethlehem, NC expensive?
The typical home is worth about $327,000, 2% below the North Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.