| Official Name: | Bethlehem, North Carolina |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | North Carolina |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Alexander |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 23.00 |
| Area Land Km2: | 19.75 |
| Area Water Km2: | 3.25 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 8.88 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 7.63 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 1.26 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 4491 |
| Population Density Km2: | 227.41 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 588.98 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1142 |
| Coordinates: | 35.8161°N -81.2961°W |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 37-05530[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2402685 |
Bethlehem is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alexander County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,214 at the 2010 census.[3] It is part of the Hickory - Lenoir - Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 23km2, of which 19.7km2 is land and 3.3km2, or 14.15%, is water.[3] The CDP occupies a large area in the southwestern corner of Alexander County, along the north shore of Lake Hickory on the Catawba River.
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 3,971 | 88.42% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 79 | 1.76% | |
| Native American | 10 | 0.22% | |
| Asian | 117 | 2.61% | |
| Other/Mixed | 154 | 3.43% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 160 | 3.56% |
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,713 people, 1,454 households, and 1,142 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 488.9sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 1,549 housing units at an average density of 204sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.88% White, 0.51% African American, 0.03% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.70% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.78% of the population.
There were 1,454 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.1% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $52,443, and the median income for a family was $56,776. Males had a median income of $34,023 versus $26,944 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $28,537. About 4.0% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.