HomeNorth CarolinaCleveland CountyShelby
Shelby, North Carolina: commercial real estate data.
Shelby is a Census city of 22,100 people across 22.36 square miles of land, in Cleveland County. Median household income is $48,376, 59.9 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 31 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $18.0 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Shelby
What Shelby is
- Census place typecity
- Land area22.36 sq mi
- Water area0.03 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land988
- County holding the largest share of its areaCleveland County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Shelby
How many people live in Shelby
- Population22,100
- Median age39.3
- Population under 185,136
- Share under 1823.2 percent
- Population 65 and over4,572
- Share 65 and over20.7 percent
- Households9,533
- Family households5,461
- Share of households that are families57.3 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Shelby
Income and work in Shelby
- Median household income$48,376
- Per capita income$31,112
- Civilian labor force9,811
- Employed9,458
- Unemployed353 plus or minus 174
- Unemployment rate3.6 percent plus or minus 1.8
- Adults 25 and over15,120
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher90.5 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher26.6 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree10.8 percent plus or minus 2.5
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Shelby
Housing in Shelby
- Housing units10,758
- Occupied units9,533
- Vacant units1,225 plus or minus 283
- Vacancy rate11.4 percent plus or minus 2.6
- Owner occupied5,715
- Renter occupied3,818
- Ownership rate59.9 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$197,200
- Median gross rent, monthly$945
- Annual rent as a share of median income23.4 percent
- Single family units7,735
- Share single family71.9 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more2,751
- Share in buildings of two or more25.6 percent
- Mobile homes272 plus or minus 150
- Median year structure built1970
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Shelby
How Shelby gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute8,413
- Commuting under 15 minutes4,114
- Share commuting under 15 minutes48.9 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more2,038
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more24.2 percent
- Drove alone79.6 percent
- Carpooled9.4 percent plus or minus 3.0
- Public transport0.0 percent
- Walked1.1 percent plus or minus 0.9
- Worked from home9.6 percent plus or minus 2.5
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Shelby
SBA loans in Shelby (7(a))
- Approvals31
- Gross approval$18,023,100
- Average approval$581,390
- Median approval$440,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,545,000
- Largest approval$2,461,900
- Jobs supported397
- Jobs per approval12.8
- Loans with a final outcome8
- Paid in full8
- Charged off0
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more22.6 percent
- Share to franchises16.1 percent
- Distinct lenders21
- Distinct industries by NAICS23
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Shelby, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 8 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Shelby
SBA loans in Shelby (504)
- Approvals4
- Gross approval$2,312,000
- Average approval$578,000
- Median approval$559,000
- Largest approval$1,040,000
- Jobs supported57
- Loans with a final outcome2
- Charged off0
- Median term270 months
- Distinct CDCs1
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Shelby, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 2 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Shelby
Flood risk in Shelby
- NFIP communityCity of Shelby
- NFIP community number370064
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date07/02/08
The City of Shelby participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 370064 and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies to it.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Cleveland County, not Shelby
Cleveland County context, not Shelby figures
- Establishments in Cleveland County2,028
- Covered employment, Cleveland County36,696
- Average annual pay, Cleveland County$53,753
- Housing units permitted, Cleveland County513
Every figure in this section is published for Cleveland County as a whole and is not a measurement of Shelby.
All Cleveland County figures →
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Shelby questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Shelby, North Carolina?
22,100, in 9,533 households. Shelby city covers 22.36 square miles of land, which is 988 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Shelby in?
Cleveland County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Shelby?
$48,376. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $197,200. Median gross rent is $945 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Shelby businesses?
31 7(a) approvals totaling $18.0 m since FY2020, across 21 lenders, median approval $440,000, plus 4 504 approvals worth $2.3 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Shelby, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Shelby borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Shelby. Only 8 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Shelby in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Shelby appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Shelby, city of, community 370064, with no Community Rating System class, so no CRS discount applies. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Shelby figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Cleveland County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Shelby.
Is zoning published for Shelby?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.