Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 1,550 residents and lies in North Carolina.
The best of Connelly Springs’ subject grades is an A− for cost of living; the weakest is a D for walkability. 11% of residents are 65 or older in Connelly Springs, below both North Carolina’s towns (18%) and U.S. towns (18%). Connelly Springs's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 97% of U.S. towns. Connelly Springs has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Connelly Springs’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Connelly Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 384 in 1930, 1,529 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2021 and 3 maps from 1956 on.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Connelly 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 Connelly Springs.
In Connelly Springs, the median household income is $55,000. Half commute less than 12 miles. The top destinations are Hickory (20%), Morganton (9%) and Valdese (6%).
| Connelly Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.2% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
17% of adults in Connelly Springs smoke cigarettes; 15% report frequent physical distress. For adults here, the share who have high blood pressure is 41%.
| Connelly Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Connelly Springs | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10% | 7.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 29° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 51% of U.S. communities. Households in Connelly Springs have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
59% of Connelly Springs households live in a home they own. In Connelly Springs, the typical rent is $884 a month.
| Connelly Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $884 a month | $1,085 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Connelly Springs. Close and well known come first.
27 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
37 mi LakeLake Norman
30 mi MountainGrandfather Mountain30 mi Theme parkTweetsie Railroad13 mi Ancient siteJoara
26 mi Park & preserveLinville Gorge WildernessBlue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Lake Norman: Prince Grobhelm, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Grandfather Mountain: Original uploader was KyleAndMelissa22 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Linville Gorge Wilderness: No machine-readable author provided. Amcbride~commonswiki assumed (based on copy, Public domain
4 within 15 miles of the center of Connelly Springs
About 2 of every 100 Connelly Springs residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Connelly Springs is a town in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Connelly Springs had a population of 1,529. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Connelly Springs.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connelly Springs | — | — | A− | — | B | C |
| Rutherford College | — | — | A | — | B | B+ |
Connelly Springs and Rutherford College have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Connelly Springs and Rutherford College report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Connelly Springs with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $207,000, 38% 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 A−.
