Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Boiling Springs grades B− overall, 86th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 79% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $262K for a typical one and 4.5 times the Shelby area’s $59K median household income. Boiling Springs’ age of the median resident is 22.4 years, below both North Carolina’s towns (40.1 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). Boiling Springs is home to Gardner-Webb University. Among 290 North Carolina towns, just 9 have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Boiling Springs.
Where Boiling Springs beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Boiling Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 672 in 1930, 4,615 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1925 and 2 maps from 1986 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Boiling Springs, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Boiling Springs.
Boiling Springs is shaped by its college students, but it has little public open land.
27.5% of residents are enrolled in college, against 6.4% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
Among adults 25 and older, 44% have a four-year degree or more, against 36% across North Carolina. Adults 18 to 34 are 40% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 27% of residents (38% statewide). The share of residents in Boiling Springs who are 65 or older: 9.1%. The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts Boiling Springs at 4,799 residents, up 4% since 2020.
| Boiling Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 9.1% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Boiling Springs | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.5% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.5% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 29.2% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.3% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.4% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 7.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.1% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.8% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.2% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.2% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.4% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 24.4% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,800, single groups can be off by several points
Its one school is below. The public schools here belong to the Cleveland County Schools. 558 students attend Boiling Springs’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boiling Springs ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 558 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Among 289 North Carolina towns, just 9 have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Boiling Springs. 8% of adults have diabetes locally. Of 32 CDC measures, Boiling Springs beats the North Carolina average on 14 and trails it on 3.
| Boiling Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 38% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 13% | 12% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| What stands out | Boiling Springs | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8% | 12% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.5% | 3.6% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 19.2% | 16.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in three quarters of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Boiling Springs, 52% come from inland flooding and 16% from tornadoes. Federal aid has come to Boiling Springs households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 2.4% in value. Just over three quarters of Boiling Springs households own their home. Also worth knowing: a home in Boiling Springs typically sold within 55 days of listing.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In July, afternoons reach 90°; in January, nights fall to 29°, and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 8% of working residents stay in Boiling Springs for work; the rest commute out. The typical household income locally is $90,000. The top destinations are Shelby (19%), Charlotte (7%) and Gastonia (4%). Jobs based in the town fell to 1,463 in 2023, 142 fewer than in 2013.
| Boiling Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $90,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Just 6 of its 2,854 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Boiling Springs itself; its outdoors grade is D.
Boiling Springs has one park or preserve, 5 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Boiling Springs Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Boiling Springs. Close and well known come first.
11 mi LandmarkPeachoid
11 mi National BattlefieldCowpens National Battlefield175K visitors a year
16 mi National Military ParkKings Mountain National Military Park176K visitors a year
35 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park38 mi Ancient siteJoara37 mi MuseumHickory Aviation MuseumPeachoid: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Cowpens National Battlefield: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kings Mountain National Military Park: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Chimney Rock State Park: Jmturner, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Boiling Springs
College town 28 of every 100 Boiling Springs residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
2 places in Boiling Springs on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Boiling Springs is a town in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States, in the westernmost part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, approximately 50 miles away from the city. As of the 2020 census, Boiling Springs had a population of 4,615. It is home to Gardner–Webb University. The town is named after the natural spring found on the university's property, which feeds a small lake.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Boiling Springs grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #86 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A− for health and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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