Catawba County, NC real estate

What the numbers say

Catawba County, NC real estate at a glance

By AstroCore · Realtor.com, US Census and Freddie Mac data

In September 2026, the median home in Catawba County listed for $355,445, down 3.8% from a year earlier. That is 11% below the North Carolina median of $400,000.

Homes spent a median of 62 days on the market, slower than 61 days a year ago. That makes Catawba County the #13 fastest-selling of 53 North Carolina counties we track.

Homeowners in Catawba County pay a median of $1,407 a year in property taxes on a median home value of $241,600, an effective rate of about 0.58%. The North Carolina average is 0.66%, which makes Catawba County the #31 lowest-tax of 100 counties in the state with published tax data.

Renters pay a median of $965 a month, and $923 for a two-bedroom. At today's prices a typical home costs about 31 times a year's rent, which generally favors renting over buying in the short term.

With 20% down and today's 7.24% average 30-year rate, the monthly payment on a $355,000 home here comes to about $2,258 including property tax and insurance. Lenders typically want that to be under 28% of income, which works out to roughly $97,000 a year (the median household here earns $67,864).