Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickory is the principal city of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area, in which the metro population at the 2020 census was 365,276. Hickory is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.