Cleveland County, NC

Cleveland County, North Carolina
The west side of the old Cleveland County Courthouse, Shelby
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location in the U.S.
Founded	1841
Named for	Colonel Benjamin Cleveland
Seat	Shelby
Largest city	Shelby
Area
• Total	468 sq mi (1,212 km2)
• Land	464 sq mi (1,202 km2)
• Water	4.0 sq mi (10 km2), 0.9%
Population
• (2010)	98,078
• Density	211/sq mi (81/km²)
Congressional district	10th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.clevelandcounty.com

Cleveland County is a county located in the western Piedmont and on the southern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,078. Its county seat is Shelby.

Cleveland County comprises the Shelby, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area. This is included in the Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC Combined Statistical Area. In the late 19th and early 20th century, this was an area of textile mills.

The county was formed in 1841 from parts of Lincoln and Rutherford counties. It was named for Benjamin Cleveland, a colonel in the American Revolutionary War, who took part in the Battle of King's Mountain. From 1841 to 1887 "Cleaveland" was the spelling used; the present spelling was adopted in 1887.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 468 square miles (1,210 km²), of which 464 square miles (1,200 km²) is land and 4.0 square miles (10 km²) (0.9%) is water.

As of the census of 2010, there were 98,078 people, 37,046 households, and 27,006 families residing in the county. The population density was 207 people per square mile (80/km²). There were 40,317 housing units at an average density of 87 per square mile (34/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74% White, 21% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Of any race, 3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.