Saluda, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saluda is a town in Polk County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 575 at the 2000 census. It is a very quiet country mountain town, sitting at the top of the steepest regular gauge railroad line east of the Rocky Mountains. It has seen a raft of improvements along its main street since 1995 or so with new restaurants and art galleries opening. Summer and fall weekends find Saluda filled with tourists and cyclists. The town festival is named Coon Dog Day, after raccoon hunting dogs. It features a beauty pageant in which the lucky winner is dubbed Coon Dog Day Queen. Also, area children compete in contests for the title 'Coon Dog Prince/Princess' (one of each), and a local boy is chosen as Coon Dog King.

[edit] Geography

Saluda is located at 35°14′16″N, 82°20′49″W (35.237856, -82.346870)^GR1. Elevation on Main Street: 2079 ft.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.0 km² (1.6 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 575 people, 265 households, and 170 families residing in the city. The population density was 142.3/km² (369.1/mi²). There were 429 housing units at an average density of 106.2/km² (275.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.04% White, 1.91% African American, 0.17% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.83% of the population.

There were 265 households out of which 20.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.70.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.6% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 34.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,063, and the median income for a family was $47,188. Males had a median income of $37,917 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,149. About 3.8% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.