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Welcome to Rutherfordton ...

The town of Rutherfordton is located in Rutherford County<1> and is the County Seat for Rutherford County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Rutherfordton, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1798.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Rutherfordton has a population of 4,090 people<2> (see below for details).

Rutherfordton is 920 feet [280 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Rutherfordton lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Rutherfordton: 828

The ZIP code for Rutherfordton: 28139<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Rutherfordton had an population of 4,090 people. This is a decrease of 2.92% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 0.99% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Rutherfordton had a population of 4,213 people (or 6.22% of the total population of Rutherford County). This makes Rutherfordton the county's 3rd most populous community.

The population of Rutherfordton represents 0.04% of the population of North Carolina (which has 9,535,483 people), making it the state's 153rd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 4,213 people, the population of Rutherfordton increased 1.98% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 4,131 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Rutherfordton.

Communities near Rutherfordton ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rutherfordton.

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rutherfordton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rutherfordton.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rutherfordton. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rutherfordton.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rutherfordton. Our list includes 23 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Rutherfordton.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rutherfordton ...

Looking for more information about Rutherfordton? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Rutherfordton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Rutherfordton.

Adding Rutherfordton to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Rutherfordton in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Rutherfordton was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

X2X - From that list, the Rutherfordton post office opened in 1798.

We also found Rutherfordton in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Rutherfordton.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rutherfordton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Rutherford County: www.rutherfordcountync.gov/

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of North Carolina's counties, including Rutherford, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Rutherfordton.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rutherfordton - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Rutherfordton). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rutherfordton or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025