• county
  • FIPS 37135
  • Largest town: Chapel Hill

Orange County, North Carolina

Orange County had 152,877 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 397.5 square miles of land. It ranks 21st of 100 in North Carolina by population and 63rd by land area.

Population
152,877
#21 of 100 in North Carolina · #458 in US
Area
397.5 sq mi
#63 of 100 in North Carolina · #2,538 in US
Density
385 / sq mi
#14 of 100 in North Carolina · #353 in US
Median household income
$86,736
#4 of 100 in North Carolina · #295 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Orange County within North Carolina. Pin: Raleigh.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Orange County

Orange County population, land area and income

Orange County had 152,877 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 397.5 square miles of land. It ranks 21st of 100 in North Carolina by population and 63rd by land area. That works out to 384.6 people per square mile, 4.0 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in North Carolina has 52,768 residents, so Orange County is 2.9 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $86,736 is in the top tenth among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

152,877

3144th1st

458th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

398 sq mi

3144th1st

2538th of 3,144 (US)

Density

384.6 / sq mi

3144th1st

353rd of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$86,736

3143rd1st

295th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within North Carolina (100)

Population

152,877

100th1st

21st of 100 (NC)

Land area

398 sq mi

100th1st

63rd of 100 (NC)

Density

384.6 / sq mi

100th1st

14th of 100 (NC)

Median household income

$86,736

100th1st

4th of 100 (NC)

How Orange County's population changed since 2020

Orange County gained 9,145 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 6.4%. That ranks 24th of 100 in North Carolina for growth. The median North Carolina county changed by +2.7%, and the state as a whole by +5.7%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Orange County recorded 4,993 births and 4,067 deaths, a natural change of +926. Net international migration added +4,040 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +701. The largest single component was international migration, which added 4,040 people.

143.7k2020148.8k2021150.7k2022152.2k2023152.9k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
4,993
Deaths
4,067
Net international migration
+4,040
Net domestic migration
+701
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+638

Where Orange County is

The Census internal point of Orange County is at 36.062500, -79.120000. It sits in UTM zone 17N. The map shades North Carolina's 100 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Orange County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Scotland County: +1.4%Rockingham County: +2.5%Franklin County: +15.6%Caswell County: -0.5%Stokes County: +2.9%Granville County: +2.3%Edgecombe County: +0.7%Randolph County: +2.8%Alexander County: +0.8%Person County: +2.4%Cherokee County: +5.2%Ashe County: +2.5%Davidson County: +5.2%Cabarrus County: +7.8%Mecklenburg County: +8.1%Burke County: +1.5%Cumberland County: +0.4%Northampton County: -4.9%Buncombe County: +3.5%Wilson County: +0.8%Bladen County: +0.5%Pitt County: +4.1%Yancey County: +2.7%Stanly County: +7.4%Harnett County: +9.3%Wilkes County: +0.5%Tyrrell County: +8.8%Pamlico County: +1.9%Hoke County: +6.0%Transylvania County: +2.5%Carteret County: +3.8%Durham County: +6.5%Anson County: +1.8%Pender County: +15.6%Alamance County: +6.7%Polk County: +4.9%Lenoir County: +0.5%Washington County: -3.0%Avery County: -0.0%Hyde County: +1.5%Gates County: -1.4%Davie County: +5.8%Jackson County: +7.4%Montgomery County: +2.5%Martin County: -2.0%Pasquotank County: +2.9%Perquimans County: +3.4%Cleveland County: +2.3%Sampson County: +2.3%Catawba County: +3.8%Alleghany County: +4.5%Robeson County: +2.3%Macon County: +4.4%Clay County: +8.0%Haywood County: +1.3%Duplin County: +3.8%Henderson County: +3.6%Craven County: +2.6%Warren County: +2.6%Graham County: +1.7%Union County: +9.9%Wayne County: +2.2%Gaston County: +5.9%Guilford County: +3.7%Yadkin County: +2.0%Watauga County: +1.0%Rowan County: +4.4%Swain County: -1.1%Chatham County: +9.4%Bertie County: -4.4%Halifax County: -2.9%Forsyth County: +4.1%Onslow County: +3.8%Dare County: +3.1%Chowan County: +1.3%Brunswick County: +20.9%Johnston County: +14.9%Orange County: +6.4%Currituck County: +13.6%New Hanover County: +7.5%Richmond County: -1.7%Vance County: -0.5%Iredell County: +9.9%Lincoln County: +12.0%Caldwell County: +0.2%McDowell County: +1.6%Rutherford County: +1.9%Mitchell County: +0.9%Moore County: +8.1%Columbus County: -0.8%Lee County: +8.1%Greene County: +1.1%Madison County: +5.0%Camden County: +7.5%Hertford County: -12.0%Beaufort County: -0.3%Jones County: +3.5%Wake County: +9.0%Nash County: +3.0%Surry County: +0.2%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < +0.5%
  2. < +2.3%
  3. < +3.7%
  4. < +7.4%
  5. ≥ +7.4%
no data

Orange pin: Orange County internal point. Dark pin: Raleigh.

Internal point

Decimal
36.062500, -79.120000
DMS
36°03'45.00"N 79°07'12.00"W
UTM
17N 669315.5E 3992516.2N
Geohash
dnrtpsfx6
Plus code
87823V7J+22

Towns in Orange County

5 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Orange County, 96,575 people together, or 63% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Orange County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Chapel Hill with 61,090.

  1. 01Chapel Hill (part)61,090
  2. 02Carrboro21,079
  3. 03Hillsborough9,773
  4. 04Mebane (part)4,488
  5. 05Durham (part)145
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Orange County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Orange County. The most populous is Durham County, NC, with 343,628 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Raleigh and the nearest big city

Raleigh is 33.2 miles SE of Orange County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Durham, NC (population 301,870), 13.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Mebane, NC (population 20,654), 8.8 miles away.

Orange County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Orange County is 37135: state code 37 for North Carolina plus county code 135. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $86,736.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Orange County, North Carolina?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 152,877. That is up 9,145 people (6.4%) from the July 2020 estimate of 143,732.

What is the FIPS code of Orange County?

37135. The first two digits (37) are North Carolina; the last three (135) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Orange County?

Chapel Hill, with 61,090 residents inside Orange County in 2024 (64,028 across all 2 counties it spans).

Which counties border Orange County?

5 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Durham County, NC; Alamance County, NC; Chatham County, NC; Person County, NC; Caswell County, NC.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.