Chapter ED Intelligence · Chapter Report
The ARC serving the Southern Piedmont of North Carolina
Southeast and Caribbean Division · North Carolina Region
NC · 6 counties · HQ Monroe, NC · FEMA Region IV
754,958
People
276,921
Households
39.7%
Households below the ALICE survival threshold
6
Counties · 2,971 sq mi
Nearly 40% of households across this chapter live below the ALICE survival threshold — the working families one disaster away from crisis.
In this report · Economic vulnerability · Who lives here · Home fire mission (FLARE) · mission delivery & the bespoke relationship strategy to follow
Sources: American Red Cross geography + 2023 demographics reference table; United Way ALICE + poverty (latest county year).
Geography & Footprint
The chapter's footprint.
6
Counties
2,971
Square miles
754,958
People
North Carolina Region
Southeast and Caribbean Division
| County | People | Sq mi | % of chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | 251,658 | 639 | 33.3% |
| Cabarrus | 242,512 | 364 | 32.1% |
| Rowan | 149,836 | 524 | 19.8% |
| Stanly | 64,117 | 405 | 8.5% |
| Montgomery | 25,510 | 502 | 3.4% |
| Anson | 21,325 | 537 | 2.8% |
HQ: Monroe, NC · FEMA Region IV. Counties sorted by population.
Who Lives Here
The people of this chapter.
39
Median age
$76,820
Median household income
14.8%
Age 65+
24.3%
Renter households
Age distribution
Race & ethnicity
Hispanic / Latino (any race): 12.0% of residents.
Source: American Red Cross 2023 demographics reference table. Chapter figures aggregate the 6 counties; median age and income are population-weighted.
Economic Vulnerability
Where the need is greatest.
| County | People | Median HH income | ALICE | Poverty | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anson | 21,325 | $41,373 | 42.2% | 20.4% | 62.6% |
| Montgomery | 25,510 | $53,119 | 31.8% | 16.0% | 47.8% |
| Stanly | 64,117 | $58,439 | 32.3% | 11.3% | 43.7% |
| Rowan | 149,836 | $57,532 | 27.1% | 15.6% | 42.7% |
| Cabarrus | 242,512 | $83,594 | 29.1% | 8.9% | 38.0% |
| Union | 251,658 | $91,864 | 26.9% | 8.3% | 35.2% |
Combined = households in poverty plus ALICE households (above poverty, below the cost of basics), as a share of all county households. Source: United Way ALICE, latest county year.
Risk & Disaster History
What this chapter is up against.
$287.9M
Expected annual loss, all hazards
Union
Highest-risk county
64.5%
Avg social vulnerability (SVI)
5
FEMA declarations, 5 yr (top county)
| County | NRI risk | Exp. annual loss | SVI %ile | FEMA 5yr | FEMA all |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Relatively Moderate | $110.3M | 20.1% | 5 | 21 |
| Cabarrus | Relatively Moderate | $85.7M | 43.2% | 5 | 19 |
| Rowan | Relatively Moderate | $48.0M | 84.4% | 5 | 21 |
| Stanly | Relatively Low | $21.9M | 66.3% | 5 | 21 |
| Montgomery | Relatively Low | $11.7M | 77.4% | 4 | 24 |
| Anson | Relatively Low | $10.2M | 95.3% | 4 | 22 |
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index 2025 (risk rating, expected annual loss), CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022 (social-vulnerability percentile), FEMA disaster declarations — via the Red Cross national county database.
Disaster History
A chapter shaped by disaster.
30
Federal disaster declarations
14
Hurricanes
Hurricane
Most common type
2026
Most recent
By incident type
Most recent declarations
| FY | Disaster | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Severe Winter Storm | Winter Storm |
| 2024 | Tropical Storm Helene | Tropical Storm |
| 2024 | Hurricane Helene | Tropical Storm |
| 2024 | Tropical Storm Debby | Tropical Storm |
| 2023 | Hurricane Ian | Hurricane |
| 2021 | Tropical Storm Eta | Severe Storm |
| 2020 | Hurricane Isaias | Hurricane |
| 2020 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm |
| 2020 | Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological |
| 2020 | Covid-19 | Biological |
Source: FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 — county-level, deduplicated to unique disasters.
Home Fire Mission · FLARE 2024
Every home fire is a Red Cross moment.
213
Home fires (2024)
72.8%
Red Cross care rate
44
Fires with no Red Cross notification
2.8
Fires per 10,000 residents
Red Cross cared for 73% of home fires — but 44 (21%) happened with no Red Cross notification: the prevention, smoke-alarm, and response opportunity, county by county.
Source: FLARE Fire Incidents 2024 (American Red Cross, public layer). “With care” = Red Cross provided assistance; “no notification” = the Red Cross was never alerted to the fire.
Home Fire · Respond & Prevent
Red Cross shows up — and prevents.
2,164
Home-fire calls answered (RC response)
2,052
Single-family fire responses
2,549
Free smoke alarms installed
110
Multi-family fire responses
Red Cross answered 2,164 home-fire calls and installed 2,549 free smoke alarms across the chapter — response and prevention, county by county.
Sources: DRO National 800-RedCross Calls by County (RC fire responses); Smoke Alarm Installs FY15–FY24 (American Red Cross).
Blood & BioMed
The blood mission's local footprint.
41,996
Blood units collected (FY22–26)
1,894
Blood drives held
319
Drives in FY2026
6
Counties with drives
Blood drives are active in 6 of the chapter's 6 counties — every county without one is an employer or civic opening: a host site, a sponsored drive, a standing partnership.
Source: BioMed Collections FY22–FY26 (American Red Cross). Drives = collection events; units = products collected.
Red Cross Facilities
The chapter's physical footprint.
4
Red Cross facilities
0
Owned
4
Leased / licensed
0
BioMed sites
By type / function
BioMed facilities
No BioMed fixed sites in this chapter.
Sources: Red Cross real-estate portfolio (reintel.jbf.com) + BioMed facilities (biomed.jbf.com).
Locations, types and functions only — no cost, square footage, or lease terms are disclosed.
Red Cross Philanthropy · Major Donors
Who gives here.
Major-donor giving across the chapter — three fiscal years. Internal planning data.
$2,901,073
Total giving, 3-year
32
Major donors
$36,150
Current FY · ▼ 99% vs prior FY
$2,369,694
Top: Rowan
| County | Major donors | Total giving, 3-year |
|---|---|---|
| Rowan | 6 | $2,369,694 |
| Union | 20 | $442,188 |
| Stanly | 1 | $45,000 |
| Cabarrus | 5 | $44,191 |
Source: Red Cross major-donor giving by county, three fiscal years.
Internal / executive-director planning use — not donor-facing.
County Deep Dive
Union County
251,658
People
$91,864
Median HH income
35.2%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age37.5
ALICE households23,615
Poverty households7,261
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$110.3M
Social vulnerability (SVI)20.1%
FEMA declarations (all time)21
Home fires, CY202437
Fires, no RC notification12
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr$442,188
Union County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Cabarrus County
242,512
People
$83,594
Median HH income
38.0%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age38.7
ALICE households26,279
Poverty households8,013
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$85.7M
Social vulnerability (SVI)43.2%
FEMA declarations (all time)19
Home fires, CY202459
Fires, no RC notification17
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr$44,191
Cabarrus County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Rowan County
149,836
People
$57,532
Median HH income
42.7%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age41.2
ALICE households16,504
Poverty households9,505
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$48.0M
Social vulnerability (SVI)84.4%
FEMA declarations (all time)21
Home fires, CY202459
Fires, no RC notification2
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr$2,369,694
Rowan County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Stanly County
64,117
People
$58,439
Median HH income
43.7%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age43
ALICE households8,201
Poverty households2,875
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$21.9M
Social vulnerability (SVI)66.3%
FEMA declarations (all time)21
Home fires, CY202422
Fires, no RC notification6
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr$45,000
Stanly County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Montgomery County
25,510
People
$53,119
Median HH income
47.8%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age43.8
ALICE households3,206
Poverty households1,611
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$11.7M
Social vulnerability (SVI)77.4%
FEMA declarations (all time)24
Home fires, CY202417
Fires, no RC notification3
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Montgomery County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
County Deep Dive
Anson County
21,325
People
$41,373
Median HH income
62.6%
Combined ALICE + poverty
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk
People & economy
Median age41.6
ALICE households3,511
Poverty households1,693
Risk & response
Expected annual loss$10.2M
Social vulnerability (SVI)95.3%
FEMA declarations (all time)22
Home fires, CY202419
Fires, no RC notification4
Bridge assistance · DRO 220-25—
Major-donor giving · 3-yr—
Anson County · sources: Red Cross demographics 2023, United Way ALICE, FEMA NRI & declarations, FLARE CY2024.
Your Live Tools
The chapter's Experience Builder apps & federal tools.
Red Cross Intelligence Briefing
Chapter risk, hardship, hazards & county drilldowns
experience.arcgis.com
Disaster Response Intelligence
Spatial disaster-response intelligence
Experience Builder app
Red Cross Real Estate
Facilities & market intelligence
experience.arcgis.com
Service Area Planning
Service-area geography & planning
Experience Builder app
Community Mobilization V
Local resource & mobilization map
experience.arcgis.com
Biomed
Blood & BioMed footprint
experience.arcgis.com
FEMA RAPT
Resilience analysis & planning
www.fema.gov
Census Community Resilience
People & resilience context
www.census.gov
Red Cross Experience Builder apps give the live, drill-down companion to this report; federal tools add official context.
Sources & Methodology
Every number, traceable.
Tools produce facts; humans own decisions. Each figure in this report traces to a named source and vintage.
| Metric | Source | Vintage |
|---|---|---|
| geography + 2023 demographics | ALICE master / Red Cross reference table | 2023 |
| ALICE + poverty households | MASTER counties ALICE+demographics | 2023 |
| flare | flare_fire_incidents (public AGOL, CY24) | CY2024 |
| smoke_alarms | GIS_MAP_FY15_to_FY24 (AGOL item b09f21d9…) | FY15–24 |
| lives_saved | Lives_Saved_Map_30_Apr_2026 (AGOL item ff313330…) | 2026 |
| blood | Biomed Collections 22-26 by chapter/county | FY22–26 |
| risk + disaster history | FEMA NRI 2025 · CDC SVI 2022 · FEMA declarations (red-cross-data county master) | FEMA NRI 2025 · SVI 2022 |
| fema disaster history | FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 | 2026 |
| facilities / real estate (no costs) | Red Cross facilities portfolio — reintel.jbf.com (locations, types & ownership only; no cost/lease terms) | FY25 |
| home-fire RC responses (SFF/MFF) | DRO National 800-RedCross Calls by County (org AGOL) | FY24–26 |
Geography: American Red Cross chapter↔county reference. The full machine-readable source ledger ships with the data bundle.
Appendix · County Data
Full county table.
| County | Pop | Households | Hardship | NRI risk | Exp. annual loss | Fires '24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union | 251,658 | 84,812 | 35.2% | Relatively Moderate | $110.3M | 37 |
| Cabarrus | 242,512 | 88,959 | 38.0% | Relatively Moderate | $85.7M | 59 |
| Rowan | 149,836 | 59,018 | 42.7% | Relatively Moderate | $48.0M | 59 |
| Stanly | 64,117 | 25,548 | 43.7% | Relatively Low | $21.9M | 22 |
| Montgomery | 25,510 | 10,270 | 47.8% | Relatively Low | $11.7M | 17 |
| Anson | 21,325 | 8,314 | 62.6% | Relatively Low | $10.2M | 19 |
One row per county. Combined hardship = poverty + ALICE households. Fires = FLARE CY2024.