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Quality of Life
 Burke County is where "the Piedmont meets the Mountains" in Western North Carolina. Burke is part of the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir Metropolitan Statistical Area which is the fourth largest MSA in the state, approximately 341,851 people.
Burke County is:
65 miles [105 km] northwest of Charlotte, NC
100 miles [160 km] west of Winston-Salem
100 miles [160 km] west of Greensboro, NC
200 miles [320 km] northeast of Atlanta, GA
Other MSA’s within one hundred miles include:
Asheville, NC; Greenville and Spartanburg, SC;
Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol, TN.
The Catawba River traverses Burke County west to east creating a wide valley, locally known as the Catawba River Valley. The great majority of development occurs within this valley which is intersected by I-40, US Highways 64 and 70, and NC Highways 18 and 181. Interstates 26, 77 and 85 are within a 50 mile radius.
The county topography ranges from the gently rolling hills found in the Catawba River Valley to North Carolina’s largest state park, South Mountain State Park, to the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains and ski country to the north. Elevations within the county range from 1020 ft. along the Catawba River to over 4200 ft. at Long Mountain.
Burke County has a proud heritage in the manufacture of furniture and textiles. Henredon Furniture, James Tools, Environmental Inks & Coatings, E J Victor, and Shadowline are a few of the companies founded in Burke County.
Burke County is also home to facilities for Catepillar, Continental Teves, Kimble Kontes, Leviton, SAFT, Sara Lee, Seiren (Viscotec), Toner Machining and numerous other manufacturing and industrial companies.
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