Rutherford College is a town in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 1,341. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town was named for the college that was once located there, Rutherford College, which operated from the 1850s until the 1930s. The campus was later purchased by Valdese General Hospital.