ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY, NC

Orange County, located in central North Carolina, is a largely rural community home to the three larger towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough (and small portions of Durham and Mebane). 

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The community heavily centers around North Carolina’s flagship university in Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill, which is home to more than 30,000 students. Chapel Hill and Carrboro in particular rely on the students to support local businesses, and the larger community relies on UNC for a large percentage of the county’s jobs and the majority of the county’s cultural and arts events. It’s important to note that UNC’s position within the community is not without difficulty; for example, demand for UNC student housing and tourist appeal has caused historically Black Chapel Hill neighborhoods such as Northside to become increasingly gentrified. 

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Orange County’s Chapel Hill is part of the Research Triangle, which includes nearby Durham and Raleigh, named so for the three research-focused universities in the area: UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, and NC State. It’s common for residents of Orange County to commute to Durham and Raleigh for work and cultural events. Perhaps because of the county’s close relationship with local universities, the community takes a more liberal bend than much of the surrounding North Carolina area.

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Image from Town of Chapel Hill Instagram