How the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro's ZIP codes measure up on health
The ZipVitals Score across the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area — built one ZIP code at a time, then rolled up by resident population.
Data release 202624 of 24 ZIP codes scored · 0.36M residents represented
Score snapshot
People & national context
The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro's ZIP codes, ranked
Highest-scoring
Top 24 of 24- 6,17728673in Sherrills Ford · 6,874 residents58.27
- 6,68528682in Terrell · 1,701 residents57.65
- 9,26228671in Rutherford College · 375 residents55.16
- 9,62528609in Catawba · 6,615 residents54.85
- 11,31328601in Hickory · 53,329 residents53.54
- 12,26628667in Rhodhiss · 301 residents52.88
- 13,00428690in Valdese · 9,196 residents52.33
- 14,36028650in Maiden · 12,746 residents51.34
- 15,00528630in Granite Falls · 19,382 residents50.90
- 16,62628658in Newton · 26,336 residents49.72
- 16,68728610in Claremont · 10,192 residents49.68
- 17,22728637in Hildebran · 1,911 residents49.31
- 17,73828681in Taylorsville · 25,566 residents48.95
- 18,63028613in Conover · 23,357 residents48.24
- 19,03728611in Collettsville · 424 residents47.91
- 19,63428638in Hudson · 12,363 residents47.43
- 19,81928612in Connelly Springs · 11,290 residents47.28
- 21,50828655in Morganton · 55,100 residents45.84
- 21,66528602in Hickory · 31,113 residents45.69
- 21,69928636in Hiddenite · 4,496 residents45.66
- 22,06328645in Lenoir · 45,997 residents45.33
- 22,35828619in Drexel · 487 residents45.04
- 24,76928666in Icard · 273 residents42.55
- 25,50428628in Glen Alpine · 60 residents41.68
Lowest-scoring
Bottom 24 of 24- 25,50428628in Glen Alpine · 60 residents41.68
- 24,76928666in Icard · 273 residents42.55
- 22,35828619in Drexel · 487 residents45.04
- 22,06328645in Lenoir · 45,997 residents45.33
- 21,69928636in Hiddenite · 4,496 residents45.66
- 21,66528602in Hickory · 31,113 residents45.69
- 21,50828655in Morganton · 55,100 residents45.84
- 19,81928612in Connelly Springs · 11,290 residents47.28
- 19,63428638in Hudson · 12,363 residents47.43
- 19,03728611in Collettsville · 424 residents47.91
- 18,63028613in Conover · 23,357 residents48.24
- 17,73828681in Taylorsville · 25,566 residents48.95
- 17,22728637in Hildebran · 1,911 residents49.31
- 16,68728610in Claremont · 10,192 residents49.68
- 16,62628658in Newton · 26,336 residents49.72
- 15,00528630in Granite Falls · 19,382 residents50.90
- 14,36028650in Maiden · 12,746 residents51.34
- 13,00428690in Valdese · 9,196 residents52.33
- 12,26628667in Rhodhiss · 301 residents52.88
- 11,31328601in Hickory · 53,329 residents53.54
- 9,62528609in Catawba · 6,615 residents54.85
- 9,26228671in Rutherford College · 375 residents55.16
- 6,68528682in Terrell · 1,701 residents57.65
- 6,17728673in Sherrills Ford · 6,874 residents58.27
Where each domain sits inside this metro
The Score above is one number for the whole Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro. Nine domains make it up, and they are not spread the same way across the people who live here. Each row divides this metro's ZIP codes into fifths by how they stand against each other on that domain, then counts who lives at each end. If a domain were spread evenly across the metro's residents, every row would read about 20%.
The highest-standing fifth
5 of 24 ZIPsShare of the metro's residents living in the fifth of its ZIP codes that stand highest on each domain.
4 ZIP codes tie at this end: 28601 Hickory28602 Hickory28645 Lenoir28655 Morganton
Standing highest: 28601 Hickory28667 Rhodhiss28673 Sherrills Ford
Standing highest: 28671 Rutherford College28673 Sherrills Ford28682 Terrell
Standing highest: 28671 Rutherford College28673 Sherrills Ford28682 Terrell
Standing highest: 28671 Rutherford College28673 Sherrills Ford28682 Terrell
Standing highest: 28628 Glen Alpine28666 Icard28671 Rutherford College
Each fifth is about 5 of this metro’s 24 compared ZIP codes, and the shares are out of 359,484 residents. A ZIP code is compared here only if it carries a resident count to weight it by and enough measured data on that domain — the rest are left out of that domain’s fifths rather than filled in from a coarser geography, which is why this count can sit just below the metro’s scored total.
The mark shows 20% — where a row would sit if that domain were spread evenly across the metro's residents.
Each ZIP code is compared with the other ZIP codes in this metro that are measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain.
Why this matters
The ZipVitals Score combines nine domains of health — from chronic disease and preventive care to environmental hazard, social need, and healthcare access — into one 0–100 index for each ZIP code, computed the same way everywhere from public federal and academic data. The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC figures on this page are population-weighted rollups of those per-ZIP scores, so they describe the metro's residents rather than a coarser geography relabeled as the metro.
A high score describes favorable documented conditions; it is not a claim about individual residents, and it does not capture everything that shapes a community's health. Where a ZIP code scores low, that pattern reflects structural conditions — investment, environment, and access — far more than the choices of the people who live there.