Union County, North Carolina

Union County
County
Union County Courthouse in Monroe
Flag Seal Logo
Motto:  "Plant your future."
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 34°59′N 80°32′W / 34.99°N 80.53°W / 34.99; -80.53
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1842
Named for	Compromise name that both local Democrats and Whigs agreed on[1]
Seat	Monroe
Largest community	Indian Trail
Area
• Total	639.65 sq mi (1,656.7 km2)
• Land	632.74 sq mi (1,638.8 km2)
• Water	6.91 sq mi (17.9 km2)  1.08%
Population  (2020)
• Total	238,267
• Estimate  (2023)	256,452
• Density	376.56/sq mi (145.39/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	8th
Website	www.unioncountync.gov

Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 238,267.^[2] Its county seat is Monroe.^[3] Union County is included in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The county was formed in 1842 from parts of Anson County and Mecklenburg County. Its name was a compromise between Whigs, who wanted to name the new county for Henry Clay, and Democrats, who wanted to name it for Andrew Jackson. The Helms, Starnes, McRorie, and Belk families were prominent in the town as well as Monroe and Charlotte. Most of these families came from Goose Creek Township.

Monroe, the county seat of Union County, also became a focal point during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1958, local NAACP Chapter President Robert F. Williams defended a 9-year-old African American boy who had been kissed by a white girl in an incident known as the Kissing Case. A second African-American boy, aged 7, was also convicted and sentenced to live in a juvenile reformatory until he was 21 for simply witnessing the act. After three months in a detention center, Governor Luther H. Hodges pardoned the boys.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 639.65 square miles (1,656.7 km²), of which 632.74 square miles (1,638.8 km²) is land and 6.91 square miles (17.9 km²) (1.08%) is water.^[4]

• Mineral Springs Greenway^[5]
• Rocky River Blueway^[6]

• Beaverdam Creek
• Crooked Creek
• Lake Lee^[7]
• Lake Monroe^[7]
• Lake Twitty^[7]
• Lanes Creek
• Lynches River
• Rocky River

• Cabarrus County – north
• Stanly County – northeast
• Anson County – east
• Chesterfield County, South Carolina – southeast
• Lancaster County, South Carolina – southwest
• Mecklenburg County – northwest

• US 74
• 
  US 74 Byp. (Toll)
• US 601
• NC 16
• NC 75
• NC 84
• NC 200
• NC 205
• NC 207
• NC 218
• NC 522
• NC 742

• Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport
• Goose Creek Airport^[8]
• Jaars-Townsend Airport^[9]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	10,051		—
1860	11,202		11.5%
1870	12,217		9.1%
1880	18,056		47.8%
1890	21,259		17.7%
1900	27,156		27.7%
1910	33,277		22.5%
1920	36,029		8.3%
1930	40,979		13.7%
1940	39,097		−4.6%
1950	42,034		7.5%
1960	44,670		6.3%
1970	54,714		22.5%
1980	70,380		28.6%
1990	84,211		19.7%
2000	123,677		46.9%
2010	201,292		62.8%
2020	238,267		18.4%
2023 (est.)	256,452	[2]	7.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790–1960[11] 1900–1990[12] 1990–2000[13] 2010–2020[2]

Union County racial composition^[14]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	161,113	67.62%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	26,500	11.12%
Native American	641	0.27%
Asian	9,516	3.99%
Pacific Islander	90	0.04%
Other/Mixed	10,297	4.32%
Hispanic or Latino	30,110	12.64%

As of the 2020 census, there were 238,267 people, 77,954 households, and 62,932 families residing in the county.

At the 2010 census,^[15] there were 201,292 people, 67,864 households, and 54,019 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 people per square mile (75 people/km²). There were 45,695 housing units at an average density of 31.4 units per square mile (12.1 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.0% White, 11.7% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.3% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. 10.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 67,864 households, out of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.60% were married couples living together, and 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present. 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.3.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 32.90% under the age of 20, 4.7% from 20 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.2 years. The population was 49.4% male. Northern Union County has the southern foothills of the Uwharrie Mountains

Historical presidential election returns

United States presidential election results for Union County, North Carolina[16] Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies) No.  % No.  % No.  % 2024 86,271 61.91% 51,168 36.72% 1,916 1.37% 2020 80,382 61.36% 48,725 37.19% 1,904 1.45% 2016 66,707 63.10% 34,337 32.48% 4,666 4.41% 2012 61,107 64.51% 32,473 34.28% 1,148 1.21% 2008 54,123 62.87% 31,189 36.23% 777 0.90% 2004 42,820 70.20% 17,974 29.47% 207 0.34% 2000 31,876 67.59% 14,890 31.57% 395 0.84% 1996 18,802 57.03% 11,525 34.96% 2,643 8.02% 1992 16,542 51.71% 10,789 33.72% 4,661 14.57% 1988 17,015 65.71% 8,820 34.06% 61 0.24% 1984 16,885 70.45% 7,048 29.41% 35 0.15% 1980 9,012 45.77% 10,073 51.16% 603 3.06% 1976 6,184 36.72% 10,578 62.81% 78 0.46% 1972 10,264 71.60% 3,886 27.11% 186 1.30% 1968 5,290 38.67% 3,630 26.53% 4,761 34.80% 1964 4,229 36.98% 7,208 63.02% 0 0.00% 1960 4,030 35.28% 7,393 64.72% 0 0.00% 1956 3,362 34.50% 6,383 65.50% 0 0.00% 1952 3,790 33.82% 7,416 66.18% 0 0.00% 1948 738 14.35% 3,407 66.23% 999 19.42% 1944 1,114 16.28% 5,729 83.72% 0 0.00% 1940 634 8.11% 7,179 91.89% 0 0.00% 1936 601 7.44% 7,480 92.56% 0 0.00% 1932 710 10.33% 6,103 88.84% 57 0.83% 1928 2,448 46.29% 2,840 53.71% 0 0.00% 1924 672 19.62% 2,721 79.45% 32 0.93% 1920 1,404 25.20% 4,168 74.80% 0 0.00% 1916 702 20.84% 2,662 79.04% 4 0.12% 1912 92 3.91% 1,786 75.87% 476 20.22% 1908 834 29.13% 2,029 70.87% 0 0.00% 1904 379 23.99% 1,181 74.75% 20 1.27% 1900 864 32.29% 1,790 66.89% 22 0.82% 1896 1,009 26.70% 2,747 72.69% 23 0.61% 1892 572 17.88% 1,798 56.19% 830 25.94% 1888 879 29.68% 2,067 69.78% 16 0.54% 1884 627 25.35% 1,846 74.65% 0 0.00% 1880 824 35.21% 1,516 64.79% 0 0.00%

In the early through mid-twentieth century, Union County was a firm "Solid South" Democratic county. Union County remained traditionally "Solid South" until after the Civil Rights Movement. The first Republican to win the county was Richard Nixon^[17] with less than forty percent of the vote in a three-way race in 1968. Union County has followed much of the South in turning towards the Republican Party following Nixon's election. Native Southerner Jimmy Carter carried Union County twice, but he remains the last Democrat to carry the county, and no Democrat since 1980 has reached 40% of the county's vote.

Union County is a member of the regional Centralina Council of Governments.^[18]

• South Piedmont Community College
• Central Academy of Technology and Arts
• Cuthbertson High School
• Forest Hills High School
• Marvin Ridge High School
• Metrolina Christian Academy
• Monroe Charter Academy
• Monroe High School
• Parkwood High School
• Piedmont High School
• Porter Ridge High School
• Sun Valley High School
• Arborbrook Christian Academy
• Tabernacle Christian School
• Union County Early College
• Union Academy
• Weddington High School
• Wingate University
• Shiloh Elementary

Two major annual events occur in the county:

• Brooklandwood in Mineral Springs is the site of the Queens Cup Steeplechase, one of steeplechase horse racing's major annual events. The program consists of several races, and is held the last Saturday of April. The schedule of events also features a Jack Russell Terrier judging contest. Over 10,000 people typically attend the event.
• The Union County town of Marshville is the site of the Randy Travis Festival, an annual street fair and carnival that takes place every fall.

• Monroe (county seat)

• Lake Park
• Marvin
• Wesley Chapel

• JAARS

• Brief
• Jackson
• New Salem
• Olive Branch
• Roughedge

• Gibraltar

• List of counties in North Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Union County, North Carolina
• Brandon Oaks, North Carolina

• Geographic data related to Union County, North Carolina at OpenStreetMap
• Official website
• Monroe–Union County Economic Development