Rowan County, NC elected officials: county commissioners, sheriff, school board and cities
Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Rowan County: 23 seats on 7 elected bodies. 12 seats were on the November 3, 2026 ballot; they update once the county certifies its results.
Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates for each school district's area, matched to its board by name. They're estimates with a , larger for small districts.
The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 14 local governments in Rowan County. This page lists the ones whose offices are elected.
Kind of government
Census count (2022)
Listed on this page
County government
1
1
Cities, towns, villages and townships
9
1
School districts (school boards)
0
1
Special districts (elected boards)
4
1
Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Government Units Listing (census.gov).
About these counts
The Census Bureau counts every independent local government once, in the county it assigns it to: the one it mostly serves or where it's based. A city or district that crosses county lines is counted in only one county, so it may be listed on this page but counted elsewhere, or the other way around. Many special districts, such as housing authorities, have appointed boards, and some places have more than one elected body, so the two columns measure different things. School systems run by a county, city or the state aren't counted as separate governments (2 in Rowan County), though their boards may be listed here; in some states the Bureau counts community or state colleges as school districts. The counts are as of 2022.
Who lives in Rowan County
149,875people
40.4median ageU.S.: 38.9
$65,725 household incomeU.S.: $80,734
16%below the U.S.: 12.5%
23.3%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%
$238,400median home valueU.S.: $332,700
5.3%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%
6.3%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%
7.2%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%
9.3%U.S.: 8.4%
46.7%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%
25.1%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%
Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 11.9% · White 67.8% · Black 15.5% · Asian 0.8% · Other or more than one race 4% (Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race; the other groups are non-Hispanic.)
Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates (data.census.gov).
About these figures
The American Community Survey asks about 3.5 million households a year about who lives there, their work, income, schooling and housing. The 5-year estimates pool 2020–2024 answers so that every county and district has enough of them. They're estimates with a (larger for smaller places), and they're different from the once-a-decade census count. "Median" means half are above and half below. Household income is before taxes and includes everyone in the household. The unemployment share here is the survey's five-year average, so it differs from the monthly rate in the BLS jobs report. Race and Hispanic origin are as people describe themselves.
Health insurance means any coverage, private or public (such as Medicaid or Medicare), when people answered; the share is of everyone except people on active military duty and people living in institutions such as prisons and nursing homes. The housing shares are of renting households, and of homeowners with a mortgage, for whom the Census Bureau can compute them (households with no income, or renters who pay no cash rent, are left out). Rent here is gross rent, rent plus utilities; owner costs include the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and fees.
Jobs in Rowan County
3.1%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 4.3%. North Carolina: 3.1%.
68,106people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.
70,271in the September 2026, preliminary.
Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.
Every month, last two years
Month
Rate
Unemployed
Employed
Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)
3.1%
2,165
68,106
70,271
August 2026
3.6%
2,481
67,180
69,661
July 2026
3.7%
2,549
67,035
69,584
June 2026
3.5%
2,448
67,244
69,692
May 2026
3.4%
2,390
67,114
69,504
April 2026
3.4%
2,341
67,316
69,657
March 2026
3.4%
2,383
67,672
70,055
February 2026
3.7%
2,574
67,252
69,826
January 2026
4.0%
2,783
66,856
69,639
December 2025
3.3%
2,352
67,933
70,285
November 2025
3.8%
2,695
67,809
70,504
October 2025
not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025
4.3%
3,051
67,797
70,848
August 2025
4.1%
2,854
67,168
70,022
July 2025
4.0%
2,818
68,258
71,076
June 2025
3.9%
2,774
67,818
70,592
May 2025
3.7%
2,579
67,486
70,065
April 2025
3.4%
2,347
67,617
69,964
March 2025
3.8%
2,632
67,534
70,166
February 2025
3.9%
2,683
66,971
69,654
January 2025
3.9%
2,720
67,238
69,958
December 2024
3.4%
2,337
67,289
69,626
November 2024
3.6%
2,477
67,154
69,631
October 2024
3.3%
2,350
67,848
70,198
Yearly averages
Year
Rate
Unemployed
Employed
Labor force
2025 (11 months)
3.8%
2,682
67,603
70,285
2024
3.6%
2,497
67,451
69,948
2023
3.5%
2,438
68,137
70,575
2022
3.7%
2,559
67,177
69,736
2021
5.0%
3,303
63,373
66,676
2020
7.7%
5,040
60,776
65,816
2019
4.0%
2,692
64,928
67,620
2018
4.0%
2,662
63,814
66,476
2017
4.7%
3,073
62,871
65,944
2016
5.5%
3,570
61,418
64,988
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, : BLS publishes county figures only that way, so they rise and fall with the seasons; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. North Carolina's figure above is on the same basis; seasonally adjusted, as in BLS's monthly state release, it was 3.4% in September 2026. The latest month is preliminary and is revised the next month, and BLS revises earlier years each spring. People are counted where they live. October 2025 wasn't collected during the 2025 federal government shutdown, so 2025's yearly average covers 11 months.
Crime reported in Rowan County
380.1 per 100,0002022. North Carolina: 285.7.
1,730.8 per 100,0002022. North Carolina: 2,007.8.
18murders2022, 529 violent crimes in all.
2022 is the latest year with complete reporting here: at least one of the county's police agencies didn't send the FBI a full year of figures since, so later totals would be undercounts.
Earlier years
Year
Violent
Rate
Property
Rate
2022
529
380.1
2,409
1,730.8
2018
390
298.7
2,793
2,139.0
By police agency (9)
Agency
Year
Violent
Property
People served
Rowan County Sheriff's Office
2025
163
611
86,540
Salisbury Police Department
2025
217
1,306
36,900
China Grove Police Department
2025
2
39
4,652
Landis Police Department
2025
7
41
3,873
Spencer Police Department
2024
8
66
3,372
Granite Quarry Police Department
2023
2
34
3,057
Rockwell Police Department
2022
9
27
2,331
East Spencer Police Department
2022
18
25
1,581
Cleveland Police Department
2025
0
14
895
Crimes to the county's city and county police agencies (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A), per 100,000 people they serve. Years with incomplete reporting are left out. Crime in North Carolina · the U.S.
Police staffing
1.74 per 1,000 residents2025, 9 agencies serving 143,477 people.
249sworn officers2025, full-time, as of October 31.
92civilian staff2025, full-time.
Agencies counted (9), 2025
Agency
Officers
Civilians
People served
Rowan County Sheriff's Office
110
78
86,540
Salisbury Police Department
66
14
36,900
Spencer Police Department
17
0
3,431
China Grove Police Department
16
0
4,652
Landis Police Department
10
0
3,873
Granite Quarry Police Department
9
0
3,135
Rockwell Police Department
8
0
2,412
East Spencer Police Department
7
0
1,639
Cleveland Police Department
6
0
895
Earlier years
Year
Officers
Per 1,000
Civilians
Agencies
2025
249
1.74
92
9
2024
264
1.84
78
9
2023
243
1.74
91
9
2022
239
1.72
78
9
2021
248
1.91
80
9
2020
340
2.58
83
9
2019
264
2.02
85
9
2018
274
2.10
73
9
2017
255
1.96
75
9
2016
253
1.95
69
9
Full-time employees of the county's city police departments and sheriff's office, as each reported them to the FBI (Uniform Crime Reporting, Law Enforcement Employees), per 1,000 people in the areas those agencies serve (the FBI's population figures). A year is shown only when every one of these agencies sent a count; a count under half or over double the agency's own counts in nearby years is treated as not sent. Towns policed under contract by another agency are counted through that agency. State police, campus and other agencies aren't included. Sheriffs' offices often also run the county jail and courthouse security, so their staff counts include those jobs.
Quick answers
Who is the Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court?
Todd Wyrick (Republican) is the Clerk of Superior Court of Rowan County, North Carolina. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Rowan County Register of Deeds?
John Brindle (Republican) is the Register of Deeds of Rowan County, North Carolina. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Rowan County Sheriff?
Travis Allen (Republican) is the Sheriff of Rowan County, North Carolina. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who are the Rowan County commissioners?
Greg Edds (County Commissioner); Jim Greene (County Commissioner); Judy Klusman (County Commissioner); Mike Caskey (County Commissioner); Craig Pierce (County Commissioner).
Who is on the Rowan County School Board?
Kevin Jones (Board of Education Member, Seat 1); Dean Hunter (Board of Education Member, Seat 2); Kathy McDuffie Sanborn (Board of Education Member, Seat 3); James (Jimmy) Greene, Jr. (Board of Education Member, Seat 4); Rebecca Childs (Board of Education Member, Seat 5); Sabrina Harris (Board of Education Member, Seat 6); Lynn G. Marsh (Board of Education Member, Seat 7).
What is the population of Rowan County?
About 149,875 people, with a median age of 40.4; the median household income is $65,725 and 16% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Rowan County?
3.1% in September 2026 (preliminary): 2,165 people unemployed in a labor force of 70,271, against 4.3% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Rowan County?
14 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 9 municipal and 4 special district governments.
What cities and towns are in Rowan County?
1: Salisbury. Each has its own page with its mayor and council.
Officeholders as of November 6, 2026, from the NC State Board of Elections' certified results of each seat's last election (2022–2025, and the March 2026 nonpartisan school board elections); officials appointed since then may differ; each name links to its source. Officials change between elections (appointments, resignations), and the body's own website is the authority. Party is shown only for offices elected on a partisan ballot.
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