Valdese is a town in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,689 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. One of the largest Waldensian congregations in the United States was founded in the town in the late nineteenth century, now known as the Waldensian Presbyterian Church. The town was settled by immigrants from the Cottian Alps in the Piedmont region of Italy.

Burke County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 87,570. Its county seat is Morganton.