City of Morganton

The City of Morganton includes 18.55 square miles and has a population of approximately 17,000. Major cultural, medical, governmental and financial activities for Burke County are located within the city limits. Morganton is home to families of many different nationalities and cultures including people of Asian, Hispanic, Native American and Black descent.

The City enjoys a temperate climate with a mild four-season year. The environmental attributes of the area contribute to the continual growth of tourism and overall the City has achieves approximately 25% population growth in the last 20 years.

Burke County is part of the growing "Unifour Region" (four counties of Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and Alexander), supporting a population over 341,000 persons. These four counties also comprise the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir Metropolitan Statistical Area [MSA].

The proximity of the Great Smokey Mountains, Lakes James, Lake Norman and major urban centers greatly enhance the physical location of the city.

The City's current property tax rate is $.46 for general tax and $.14 for municipal service district tax per $100 valuation. County property tax is .52 per $100 valuation.