County profile

Orange County / Chapel Hill, NC

Reading this county

Orange County is Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, about 149,000 people at the west end of the Research Triangle. Between 1960 and 1975 astronauts trained in celestial navigation at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, and nearly every Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab crew came through it.

Educational Attainment: 39%: Highly educated residents make up 39% of the population, a share only 21 counties in the country beat. UNC-Chapel Hill is inside the county line. >99% of 3,143 counties
Primary Care Physicians: 18.2¹: 18.2 primary care physicians per 10,000 residents, a rate only 20 counties in the country beat. Some of that care is delivered inside county school buildings. >99% of 3,025 counties
Live Music: 17: 17 live music venues in the county, a count higher than in 95% of counties. One of them, Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, has been booking touring acts for over 50 years. >95% of 3,143 counties
Farmers Markets: 6: Six farmers markets, a count higher than in 90% of counties. Everything sold at the Carrboro Farmers' Market was grown or made within 50 miles of it. >90% of 3,143 counties
The trade-off — Median Home Price: $521K⁴: A $521K median home, higher than 95% of counties, against an $88K household income. Some homes here can never be resold on the open market, by the terms of a ground lease. >95% of 3,143 counties

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,801. Its county seat is Hillsborough.

Demographics and county data

Each comparison is against the US counties that publish the same measurement. Measurements where too many counties share a single value to be ranked show no comparison at all.

Abortion Regulation: Legal (Restricted)
ACT/SAT Scores: #5
Air Quality: 9.4¹
Alcohol Regulation: #11
All Occupations: $83K¹
American Indians/Alaskan Natives: ↓-1.5%
Amish, Mennonites, etc: ↓-2.3%⁷
Any Airport: 0h 27m
Any Natural Disaster: Low³
Architecture & Engineering: $85K¹⁰
Art Museums: 2
Arts, Design, Sports, Media & Entertainment: $67K¹⁰
Asian Americans: ↑6.3%
Asian Language Speakers: ↑4.4%
Avalanche: none³
Average School Rating: 63.6⁶
Beergardens & Brewpubs: 16
Bike Score: 50
Blacks/African Americans: ↑2.1%
Boating: 39
Broadband Internet: 88%
Buddhists: ↑0.5%⁷
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance: $32K¹⁰
Business & Financial Operations: $83K¹⁰
Cannabis Regulation: Illegal
Cat Friendly Rentals: 59%
Catholics: ↓-4.7%⁷
City Population: 62K
Climate Change Risk: 2.7
Coastal Flooding: none³
Cold Wave: none³
Community & Social Service: $52K¹⁰
Commute Time: 25
Computer & Mathematical: $105K¹⁰
Construction & Extraction: $48K¹⁰
County Population: 149K
Cuisine Diversity: 40
Cycling: 13
Dentists: 22.8
Dog Friendly Rentals: 78%
Drought: Low³
Earthquakes: Very Low³
Education, Training, & Library: $53K¹⁰
Educational Attainment: 39%
Elevation: 554'⁸
English Speakers: ↓-2.1%
Farmers Markets: 6
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry: $38K¹⁰
Fatal Dog Attacks: 0
Fatal Wildlife Attacks: 0
Fire Ants: Fire Ants!
Fishing: 57
Food Preparation & Serving Related: $28K¹⁰
Forests: 48%
Freshwater Access: 96
Gluten-Free Options: 24
Golf: 38
Gun Open Carry Regulation: Legal (Unrestricted)
Hail: Very Low³
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical: $87K¹⁰
Healthcare Support: $33K¹⁰
Heat Wave: Low³
High School Graduation Rate: 88%¹
Hiking: 206
Hindus: ↑1.2%⁷
Hispanics/Latinos: ↓-1.1%
History Museums: 2
Home Ownership Rate: 63%
Homelessness: 118
Homicide Rate: 3¹
Hospitals: 1
Hurricanes: Medium³
Ice Storms: Low³
Indo-European Language Speakers: ↑2.5%
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair: $52K¹⁰
Investment Potential: 49 / 100
Jehovah's Witnesses: ↓-0.7%⁷
Jews: ↑0.3%⁷
Landslide: Low³
LDS / Mormons: ↓-0.9%⁷
Legal: $103K¹⁰
Life Expectancy: 82¹
Life, Physical, & Social Science: $74K¹⁰
Lightning: Low³
Live Music: 17
Major Airport: 0h 27m
Major City Proximity: 0h 19m
Major League Baseball: 4h 47m
Major League Soccer: 2h 32m
Management: $127K¹⁰
Median Age: 35 years¹¹
Median Home Price: $521K
Median Rental - 1 BR Apartment: $960
Median Rental - 2 BR Apartment: $1,227
Median Rental - 3 BR Apartment: $1,719
Median Rental - 4 BR Apartment: $2,060
Median Rental - Room: $913
Median Rental - Single Family Home: $2,109⁴
Median Rental - Studio Apartment: $954
Mental Health Providers: 66.2
Meth Labs: 0
Michelin Rated Restaurants: none
Minor League Baseball: 0h 19m
Mountains: 627'⁸
Multiracials: ↑0.6%
Muslims: ↑0.0%⁷
National Parks: 3h 35m
Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders: ↓-0.1%
NBA Basketball: 2h 31m
NFL Football: 2h 32m
NHL Hockey: 0h 31m
Not Religious / Atheists / Agnostics: ↑8.0%
Nuclear Strike: Direct Target
Obesity Rate: 22%¹
Office & Administrative Support: $42K¹⁰
Orthodox Christians: ↓-0.2%⁷
Other Language Speakers: ↓-0.1%
Other Relocation Incentives: none
Park Score: 81%⁹
People 0-9 Years Old: ↓-1.8%
People 10-19 Years Old: ↑2.7%
People 20-29 Years Old: ↑6.9%
People 30-39 Years Old: ↓-0.7%
People 40-49 Years Old: ↑0.7%
People 50-59 Years Old: ↓-1.5%
People 60-69 Years Old: ↓-2.0%
People 70-79 Years Old: ↓-2.5%
People 80+ Years Old: ↓-1.8%
Performing Arts: 0
Personal Care & Service: $33K¹⁰
Political Orientation: 61% Dems
Population Density: 374
Population Growth: ↑0.1%
Poverty Rate: 10.3%
Primary Care Physicians: 18.8
Private/Home School Regulation: #45
Production: $41K¹⁰
Property Crime Rate: 1,507
Property Tax: 1.12%
Protective Service: $43K¹⁰
Protestants / Non-Denominationals: ↓-2.9%⁷
Rain: 45"
Regional Theatre: 1
River Flooding: Low³
Sales & Related: $48K¹⁰
Sales Tax: 7.5%
Same Sex Households: ↑0.1%
Scenic Beauty: #12
Seacoast Proximity: 3h 02m
Seasons: 39 °F
Shark Attacks: 0
Single Parent Households: ↓-4.1%
Skiing: 3h 28m
Small or Major Airport: 0h 27m
Smokers: 15%¹
Snow: 5"
Spanish Speakers: ↑0.6%
State Income Tax: 5.3%
Strong Wind: Very Low³
Summer Heat: 88 °F
Summer Mugginess: Icky
Sunny Days: 216
Termite Infestation: Heavy
Tobacco Regulation: #46
Top School Rating: 89.2⁶
Tornadoes: Low³
Traffic: 527K
Transit Score: 37
Transportation & Material Moving: $39K¹⁰
Tsunami: none³
Typical Expenses: $51K⁵
Typical Expenses: $143K⁵
Typical Expenses: $81K⁵
Typical Expenses: $91K⁵
Typical Expenses: $101K⁵
Typical Expenses: $98K⁵
Typical Expenses: $68K⁵
Typical Expenses: $124K⁵
Typical Expenses: $145K⁵
Typical Expenses: $114K⁵
Typical Expenses: $68K⁵
Typical Expenses: $90K⁵
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%¹
Vegetarian Friendliness: 28
Violent Crime Rate: 160²
Volcanic Activity: none³
Walk Score: 34
Water Quality: 1/4
Whites: ↓-6.4%
Wildfires: Very Low³
Windiness: 22 mph
Wineries: 13
Winter Cold: 50 °F
Winter Weather: Medium³

Cities

Blackwood, Briarcliff, Cabes Ford, Caldwell, Calvander, Carr, Carrboro, Cedar Grove, Chapel Hill, Davie Circle, Dodsons Crossroads, Dogwood Acres, Durham, Efland, Eno, Eubanks, Hillsborough, Laws, McDade, Mebane, Miles, Oaks, Orange Grove, Plantation Acres, Schley, Teer, Tenney Circle, West Hillsborough, White Cross