Bethlehem, NC (28681)

Bethlehem, NC (ZIP 28681) sits in Alexander County within the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area. The page draws on 2 federal data feeds retrieved Apr 27. Top health signal: High Blood Pressure comes in above the national average at 39.2%. NCES lists 8 schools serving the area, 8 non-charter. 9 colleges and universities serve the area, with median in-state tuition of $2,646. IRS data shows average household income (AGI) of $64,999, well above the ~$45K national average per return. BLS QCEW reports average annual pay of $46,164 per worker, roughly 29% below the US average. The most recent FEMA disaster declaration here was winter storm-related (SEVERE WINTER STORM, 2026). County Health Rankings reports 10,847 years of potential life lost per 100,000 (2025) — well above the national county median. IRS migration data (2022-2023) shows a net gain of 303 residents (183 households) — the ZIP's primary county is growing. Healthcare access and school options both run strong here, giving residents a wide menu of providers and enrollment choices nearby. Notable: median household income $59,309, fair market rent of $980 for a two-bedroom, and a typical home value of $263,503, up 7.8% over the past year. Every figure on this page links to its underlying federal dataset with a retrieval date so you can audit the freshness yourself.

Demographics

HUD Fair Market Rents represent the 40th percentile of standard-quality rental housing in this area. FY2026 data.

Home values

Source: Zillow Research, ZHVI All Homes (SFR, Condo/Co-op) Time Series (zillow.com/research/data). Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is copyrighted by Zillow, Inc.

New housing construction

Based on county-level data (2024).

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (census.gov/construction/bps). Public domain. BPS reports annual residential building permits from local permit-issuing jurisdictions, aggregated to county. A permit reflects intent to build, not a completed unit — actual construction lags by 6-24 months for multifamily projects.

Income & tax statistics

Source: IRS Statistics of Income — Individual Income Tax Statistics by ZIP Code (irs.gov). Public domain. Dollar columns reported in thousands by the IRS; figures here display real dollars. Total ZCTA AGI for the area was $689.6M across all reported brackets.

Business & employment

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Business Patterns (census.gov). Public domain. ZBP covers establishments with paid employees; Census suppresses employment and payroll values when fewer employers operate in a ZIP than would protect their confidentiality.

Employment & wages

That is roughly 29% below the US national average of $65,470 per worker.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (bls.gov/cew). Public domain. QCEW is derived from state unemployment-insurance filings and covers ~95% of US jobs. Figures are county-level totals assigned to ZIPs whose primary county matches; small-employer cells are suppressed by BLS to protect employer confidentiality.

Unemployment

Based on Alexander County, NC data (2024).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (bls.gov/lau). Public domain. LAUS publishes monthly and annual labor-force estimates for every US county. Figures are county-level totals assigned to ZIPs whose primary county matches.

Banking access

Based on FDIC-insured branch offices as of June 30, 2024.

Source: FDIC Summary of Deposits (fdic.gov). Annual June-30 snapshot of every FDIC-insured branch and the deposits booked there. Figures cover all institutions reporting a branch address in this ZIP.

Community health centers

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Look-Alike sites provide primary care on a sliding-fee scale, regardless of ability to pay. Active sites only; data refreshed 2026.

Source: HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care (data.hrsa.gov). Per-ZIP counts of active service-delivery sites operated by Health Center Program grantees and Look-Alike organizations.

Public libraries

Public libraries provide free WiFi, computer access, children's programming, job-seeking resources, and meeting space — community infrastructure beyond books. FY2023 outlet inventory from the federal Public Libraries Survey.

Source: Institute of Museum and Library Services (imls.gov). Per-ZIP counts of active public-library outlets — central buildings, branches, and bookmobiles — operated by federally reporting library systems.

Social Vulnerability Index

The Social Vulnerability Index uses U.S. Census data to identify communities most at risk during public health emergencies and natural disasters. Higher percentiles indicate greater vulnerability. Tract-level scores are aggregated to this ZCTA via Census 2020 ZCTA→Tract crosswalk, weighted by land-area share. Source: atsdr.cdc.gov. Public domain.

Federal Disaster Declarations

FEMA declares disasters at the county level; counts here include every federally declared disaster touching any county that overlaps this ZIP. Statewide declarations and pre-1964 records without county granularity are excluded. Program flags reflect which FEMA assistance categories were activated (Individual Assistance, Households, Public Assistance, Hazard Mitigation). Source: fema.gov/openfema. Public domain.

Air quality

Based on Alexander County data (2024).

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System (epa.gov). Public domain. Only counties with EPA AQS monitoring stations appear here (~30% of US counties); rural ZIPs whose primary county has no monitor will not show this section.

Community health profile

Low birth weight (under 2,500 g) accounts for 8.2% of live births in this county — an early-life health input that downstream outcomes track against.

Based on Alexander data (2025 CHR release).

Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (countyhealthrankings.org). Annual release. Underlying source datasets vary by measure (CDC BRFSS, NCHS Vital Statistics, AHA, USDA Food Environment Atlas, and others). Figures are county-level and assigned to every ZIP whose primary county matches.

Food access

Among low-income residents, 7.6% are low-access — those without a supermarket within 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural).

Per-1,000 figures show how many of each store type exist in Alexander County, NC for every 1,000 residents. Higher grocery and supercenter density usually means easier access to fresh food; higher convenience-store-only density (with low grocery rate) often signals a food swamp.

Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Environment Atlas (ers.usda.gov). County-level metrics fanned to ZIP via the primary county in the Census ZCTA-county relationship file. Variable years differ per family (stores ~2020, low-access ~2019).

Who’s moving in and out

Incoming households reported an average AGI of $60,448 versus departing households' $49,985.

Source: U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income, Migration Data (irs.gov). Public domain. Migration is measured by year-over-year changes in the address on individual tax returns; figures are county-level totals attributed to ZIPs whose primary county matches. Foreign migration contributes to inflow/outflow totals but does not appear in the top-county lists. Small flows are suppressed by IRS to protect taxpayer confidentiality.

Data sources used on this page

Health profile

Crude prevalence estimates from CDC PLACES, derived from BRFSS small-area modeling. Population-level figures only.

Schools in this ZIP

8 schools serve this ZIP, including 8 non-charter.

Showing top 5 by enrollment. 3 more schools serve this ZIP.

Schools listed from NCES Common Core of Data via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal.

Colleges & universities nearby

• Appalachian State University

  Boone, NC · 28608

  4-Year

  In-state tuition

  $7,579

  Out-of-state tuition

  $25,212

  Acceptance rate

  90.1%

  Graduation rate

  73.8%

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  $51,836

  Median student debt

  $20,231

• Catawba Valley Community College

  Hickory, NC · 28602

  2-Year

  In-state tuition

  $2,427

  Out-of-state tuition

  $7,803

  Acceptance rate

  —

  Graduation rate

  35.4%

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  $36,977

  Median student debt

  $4,938

• Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute

  Hudson, NC · 28638

  2-Year

  In-state tuition

  $2,526

  Out-of-state tuition

  $6,526

  Acceptance rate

  —

  Graduation rate

  42.0%

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  $34,515

  Median student debt

  $8,750

• Mitchell Community College

  Statesville, NC · 28677

  2-Year

  In-state tuition

  $2,641

  Out-of-state tuition

  $8,785

  Acceptance rate

  —

  Graduation rate

  22.5%

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  $33,298

  Median student debt

  —

• Lenoir-Rhyne University

  Hickory, NC · 28601

  4-Year

  In-state tuition

  $31,900

  Out-of-state tuition

  $31,900

  Acceptance rate

  84.6%

  Graduation rate

  49.2%

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  $45,543

  Median student debt

  $26,000

• Wilkes Community College

  Wilkesboro, NC · 28697

  2-Year

  In-state tuition

  $2,572

  Out-of-state tuition

  $8,716

  Acceptance rate

  —

  Graduation rate

  53.8%

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  $34,728

  Median student debt

  $7,625

• Western Piedmont Community College

  Morganton, NC · 28655

  2-Year

  In-state tuition

  $2,650

  Out-of-state tuition

  $8,794

  Acceptance rate

  —

  Graduation rate

  42.6%

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  $34,195

  Median student debt

  —

• Lees-McRae College

  Banner Elk, NC · 28604

  4-Year

  In-state tuition

  $33,250

  Out-of-state tuition

  $33,250

  Acceptance rate

  76.8%

  Graduation rate

  43.1%

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  $43,415

  Median student debt

  $17,375

• Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine

  Sugar Grove, NC · 28679

  4-Year

  In-state tuition

  —

  Out-of-state tuition

  —

  Acceptance rate

  —

  Graduation rate

  —

  Median earnings (10 yr)

  —

  Median student debt

  —

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (collegescorecard.ed.gov). Public domain data. Earnings figures reflect median earnings 10 years after entry for federally-aided students.

What these numbers say together

Frequently Asked Questions — ZIP 28681

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