Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town was settled in 1900 and has 3,514 residents today. Public schools that outperform most of North Carolina.
Incomes are its strong suit — the median household earns $92K. Mineral Springs grades A overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns, and ranks 13th of 286 in North Carolina. What holds it back is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. It lags on hazard risk as well: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. At about $426K, a typical home costs 5.1 years of the Charlotte metro’s $83K median household income. Pleasant Grove Camp Meeting Ground is on the National Register of Historic Places. Mineral Springs’ average trip to work is 34 minutes, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 24 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Mineral Springs beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Western Union Elementary | K–5 | 539 |
| Widest gap | Mineral Springs | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.8% | 15.2% |
2,639 counted in 2010 and 3,159 in 2020; an estimated 3,514 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 10.3% since 2020, after 19.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Mineral Springs is from typical.
Its grades run from A for jobs and income (better than 89% of comparable towns) to D− for walkability (better than 3%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 84 in 1920, 3,159 in 2020. The archive holds 2 maps from 1970 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mineral 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 Mineral Springs.
Mineral Springs has schools in the top 5% of North Carolina and has less food insecurity than most of North Carolina, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly inland flooding).
Its A− ranks #3 of the 290 North Carolina towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Union County Public Schools. 539 students attend Mineral Springs’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Union ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 539 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with North Carolina is food insecurity: 9.8% of its 2,385 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.2% statewide.
The share of adults in Mineral Springs who binge drink: 16%. Two figures for adults here: 31% sleep under 7 hours, 12% report frequent physical distress.
| Mineral Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Mineral Springs | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.8% | 15.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.4% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 80% of North Carolina towns; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Expected losses in Mineral Springs break down as 77% from inland flooding and 11% from tornadoes. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2024.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mineral Springs has 267 jobs for its 1,527 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 613 in 2013 to 267.
Mineral Springs had 267 jobs in 2023, down 346 from 2013. Among residents here, 4.2% live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Charlotte (40%), Monroe (9%) and Indian Trail (4%). Half the trips to work are shorter than 19 miles.
| Mineral Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.2% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.8% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For Mineral Springs, the median rent is $1,340 a month. Zillow values the typical Mineral Springs home at about $426,000, up 0.8% in a year, 28% above the North Carolina typical home. In Mineral Springs, 85% of households own their home.
| Mineral Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,340 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Since 2020, Mineral Springs has grown 10%, to 3,514 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (38% statewide). For Mineral Springs, the midpoint age is 45.5 years. Among adults 25 and older, 35% have a four-year degree or more, against 36% across North Carolina.
| Mineral Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.5 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Mineral Springs | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.4% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.6% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.9% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.8% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.7% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.6% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.4% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.4% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.9% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.4% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,500, single groups can be off by several points
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Across 1 park or preserve: 0.3 miles of trail. Mineral Springs has one park or preserve, 2 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mineral Springs Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mineral Springs. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaBank of America Stadium
18 mi Theme parkCarowinds24 mi MuseumSullenberger Aviation Museum70K visitors a year
40 mi LakeLake Norman
19 mi Stadium & arenaBojangles Coliseum19 mi TheatreOvens AuditoriumBank of America Stadium: HangingCurve, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Carowinds: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Norman: Prince Grobhelm, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bojangles Coliseum: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Mineral Springs
About 3 of every 100 Mineral Springs residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Where Mineral Springs’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in North Carolina, United States
Mineral Springs is a town in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,159 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Mineral Springs.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral Springs | #13 | A | B | — | A− | A− |
| Waxhaw | #9 | A | C− | A | A− | A |
Mineral Springs reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Mineral Springs with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Mineral Springs grades A overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns and #13 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
