Rural, urban and suburban meet in Orange County, home to the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, Mebane and Rougemont, as well as a number of rural communities. Home to about 122,000 people, the county has the highest tax rate in the Triangle and some of the highest housing prices.
Bordering Durham, Chatham, Person, Alamance and Caswell Counties, Orange County is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Hospitals. The town of Hillsborough is one of the oldest communities in North Carolina, once serving as the state capital.
Orange County is connected to the rest of the Triangle through Interstate 85, Interstate 40, U.S. 15-501 and N.C. 70, to name a few major roads.
What are the local attractions?
Natural features include University Lake, the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the Eno River. UNC draws thousands of visitors a week to its museums, cultural and sporting events. Historic downtown Hillsborough is also a major tourist draw. Major shopping areas include Chapel Hill’s University Mall and Franklin Street.
What's the history?
Orange County was founded in 1752. The original county boundaries extended from Eastern North Carolina to the Piedmont. After numerous counties were carved out of the orginal Orange, the current boundaries were established in 1881. The county has played an important role in the political and educational history of North Carolina. The provincial congress met briefly in Hillsborough, and the University of North Carolina opened to students in Chapel Hill in 1795.(Source: UNC Universities Libraries, Orange Co. History Research Guide.)
Who runs the county?
Orange County is governed by a five-member board of commissioners, elected to four-year terms in partisan countywide elections. For their names and contact information see Orange County.
Some services are countywide, others vary by town.
For a full list of county departments and services see Orange County.
Searchable databases of public tax records can be found at the Revenue Department. Land records can be found at Orange County Land Records.
What about the schools?
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system operates 16 schools within the Chapel Hill-Carrboro town limits. The separate Orange County school system serves students in the rest of the county, operating 13 schools.
Who lives here?
The median age of Orange County is 30.4 as of the 2000 census. The racial breakdown is 78 percent white, 13.8 percent black, and 4.1 percent Asian. Hispanics or Latinos of any race make up 4.5 percent of the population. Bachelors degrees or higher are held by 52.9 percent of the population over 25.
Orange County has compiled a detailed report on population and growth trends .
What about public safety?
Police services are provided in the county by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Here are the crime statistics reported by the department for 2006 (source: SBI):
Murder: 1
Rape : 2
Robbery: 14
Aggravated Assault: 6
Burglary : 330
Larcenies: 371
Motor Vehicle Theft: 68
