The county seat of Gaston County is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911.
Of North Carolina's one hundred counties, Gaston County ranks 74th in size, consisting of approximately 364.5 square miles (944 km), and is seventh in population. The county has fifteen incorporated towns.
As of the census of 2004, there were 194,459 people, 73,936 households, and 53,307 families residing in the county. The population density was 534 people per square mile (206/km²). There were 78,842 housing units at an average density of 221 per square mile (85/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83% White, 13.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 1% from two or more races. 3.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 92,094 males and 98,271 females in Gaston County. Of these 39,492 are under 15, 23,082 are aged 16-24, 59,096 are aged 25-44, 44,710 are aged between 45-64 and 23,985 are 65 and over. The average life expectancy is 36.89 years.
The races there are very mixed: 157,965 are white, 26,405 are black or African-American, 525 are American Indian and Alaska native, 1,814 are Asian, 50 are native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 5,719 are Hispanic or Latino, 1,958 are some other race and 1,648 are two or more races.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,482, and the median income for a family was $46,271. Males had a median income of $33,542 versus $23,876 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,225. About 8.30% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 11.10% of those age 65 or over.
Gaston County is served by Greyhound Lines and Amtrak, both with stops in Gastonia. Freight rail service is provided by the Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX.
The Greyhound station is located at 702 Davis Street in Gastonia . It is open Monday through Saturday 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM, and closed Sundays and Holidays.
The Amtrak station is located at 350 Hancock Street in Gastonia. The city is served by Amtrak's Crescent. The Northbound train (#20) for New York City arrives at Gastonia at 12:56 AM and the Southbound train (#19) for New Orleans, Louisiana arrives at 3:12 AM.
The Norfork Southern main line passes from west to east across the county, passing through Kings Mountain, Gastonia, and Belmont. From Gastonia, a branch line leads north to Dallas and High Shoals and south to Crowders.
CSX rail lines pass through the northwestern and northeastern corners of Gaston County. In the northwest, a line between Lincolnton and Shelby passes through Cherryville. In the northeast, a line between Lincolnton and Charlotte passes through Stanley and Mount Holly.
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is a major, full-service airport with passenger flights. It is across the Catawba River in Mecklenburg County in Charlotte.
The city of Gastonia owns and operates Gastonia Municipal Airport, which is a general aviation airport which covers 280 acres (1.1 km) and has one runway.