According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 7.8 square miles (20 km2), 0.13% of which is water. It sits at an elevation of 204 m (670 ft).
Neighboring communities include Terrell to the south and east, and Catawba to the northwest.
Sherrills Ford is so named due its being the site of the fording of the Catawba River from east to west by Adam Sherrillet al.ca. 1747. (The apostrophe in "Sherrill's Ford" was inadvertently dropped.) The Sherrills, of English ancestry, had come from northeast Maryland, most probably trekking through modern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.[3] Along with others, Adam Sherrill established the first settlement by people of European ancestry that far west, and his fine house was built by African-Americantwins whom he enslaved.[4] Many Sherrill descendants still reside in Sherrills Ford.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 941 people, 367 households, and 273 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 121.0 inhabitants per square mile (46.7/km2). There were 383 housing units at an average density of 49.2 per square mile (19.0/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.5% White, 13.0% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 1.49% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.49% of the population.
There were 367 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the CDP the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $41,406, and the median income for a family was $49,271. Males had a median income of $29,922 versus $30,400 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,001. About 3.7% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 23.5% of those age 65 or over.
