North Carolina State Senate District 48

State Legislative District Profile (Upper Chamber)

Overview

District ID
nc-sd-048
State
North Carolina
Chamber
Upper chamber (state senate)
District Code
048
Land Area
1,176.1 sq mi
Water Area
4.71 sq mi

Boundary

Boundary of North Carolina State Senate District 48

Boundary as GeoJSON

Source: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line state legislative district boundaries.

Counties

CountyOverlapShare of district landShare of county land
Rutherford County565.44 sq mi48.1%100.0%
Henderson County372.95 sq mi31.7%100.0%
Polk County237.69 sq mi20.2%100.0%

Showing all 3 counties

Places

PlaceOverlapShare of district landShare of place land
Mills River town22.31 sq mi1.9%99.7%
Etowah CDP17.66 sq mi1.5%100.0%
Lake Lure town13.17 sq mi1.1%100.0%
Edneyville CDP10.74 sq mi0.9%100.0%
Dana CDP8.90 sq mi0.8%100.0%
Forest City town8.57 sq mi0.7%99.7%
Flat Rock village8.10 sq mi0.7%100.0%
Fruitland CDP8.04 sq mi0.7%99.9%
Horse Shoe CDP7.46 sq mi0.6%100.0%
Hendersonville city7.41 sq mi0.6%93.9%
Hoopers Creek CDP6.94 sq mi0.6%100.0%
Fletcher town6.40 sq mi0.5%100.0%
Spindale town5.41 sq mi0.5%100.0%
East Flat Rock CDP4.28 sq mi0.4%100.0%
Rutherfordton town4.12 sq mi0.4%99.3%
Mountain Home CDP3.77 sq mi0.3%100.0%
Columbus town3.76 sq mi0.3%100.0%
Gerton CDP3.72 sq mi0.3%100.0%
Chimney Rock Village village3.36 sq mi0.3%100.0%
Laurel Park town2.80 sq mi0.2%99.5%
Cliffside CDP2.33 sq mi0.2%100.0%
Valley Hill CDP2.32 sq mi0.2%100.0%
Tryon town2.00 sq mi0.2%100.0%
Balfour CDP1.62 sq mi0.1%100.0%
Saluda city1.56 sq mi0.1%99.9%

Showing top 25 of 31 places

Overlapping Congressional Districts

Congressional districtPopulation in bothShare of this district's populationShare of the congressional district's populationShare of this district's land
NC District 11122,06061.0%16.4%41.4%
NC District 1477,99339.0%10.5%58.6%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 blocks and 2025 block equivalency files (119th Congress, 2024 state legislative plans).

Voters

Registered Voters
155,606
Active Voters
135,346 (87.0%)

Party Registration

PartyVotersShare
Democratic28,98418.6%
Republican60,28038.7%
Unaffiliated65,30142.0%
Other parties1,0410.7%
No party recorded00.0%

Turnout by Cycle

CycleGeneralDemocratic PrimaryRepublican Primary
2025–202614 (0.0%)0 (0.0%)0 (0.0%)
2023–2024116,806 (75.1%)9,915 (6.4%)33,605 (21.6%)
2021–202281,585 (52.4%)7,730 (5.0%)28,058 (18.0%)
2019–2020106,006 (68.1%)20,617 (13.2%)24,658 (15.8%)
2017–201872,366 (46.5%)6,769 (4.4%)18,009 (11.6%)
2015–201681,941 (52.7%)15,415 (9.9%)27,039 (17.4%)
2013–201449,546 (31.8%)6,028 (3.9%)13,564 (8.7%)
2011–201266,951 (43.0%)12,764 (8.2%)21,069 (13.5%)

Turnout counts today's registered voters with a counted ballot in the cycle's elections (the odd and even year), as a share of today's registered voters. Voters who have since left the rolls are not counted.

Browse the voter list for this district (premium access; sign-in required)

Source: Civitech voter file snapshot as of 01/20/2026. These are registered voters, separate from the Census population figures. Counts under 10 are suppressed and shown as "<10".

Demographics

Total Population
203,305
Median Age
47.5
Median Household Income
$62,731 (± $1,768)
High School Graduate or Higher (age 25+)
90.4%
Bachelor's Degree or Higher (age 25+)
31.8%

Population by Age

GroupPeopleShare
Under 1838,25118.8%
18 to 64112,73355.5%
65 and over52,32125.7%

Population by Race and Hispanic Origin

GroupPeopleShare
Hispanic or Latino (any race)20,32310.0%
White, not Hispanic163,86380.6%
Black, not Hispanic8,9674.4%
Asian, not Hispanic1,8190.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native, not Hispanic4030.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, not Hispanic2790.1%
Some other race, not Hispanic1,1260.6%
Two or more races, not Hispanic6,5253.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates (tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B03002, B15003, B19013) for this state legislative district. Estimates are survey-based; ± figures are 90% margins of error.

Citizen Voting Age Population

Total Citizen Population
196,271
Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP)
158,469

Citizen Population by Race/Ethnicity

GroupCitizensShare
Non-Hispanic181,75692.6%
Hispanic14,5217.4%
White164,80784.0%
Black9,1404.7%
Asian1,5860.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native4020.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander1950.1%
Two or More Races3110.2%

Citizen Voting Age Population by Race/Ethnicity

GroupCVAPShare
Non-Hispanic150,76495.1%
Hispanic7,6984.9%
White138,27287.3%
Black9,0805.7%
Asian1,6981.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native1,3870.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander1750.1%
Two or More Races1930.1%

Source: Redistricting Data Hub / U.S. Census Bureau CVAP Special Tabulation (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).