Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
ORANGE COUNTY WORK FIRST PLAN <br />December 19, 1997 <br />III. CONDITIONS WITHIN ORANGE COUNTY <br />A. Current Realities <br />1. Population <br />Orange County, North Carolina covers almost 400 square miles in the north central part of the <br />state. Of the 105,000 people in the County, almost 65,000 make their home inside one of the four <br />incorporated municipalities: Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Mebane. The remaining <br />40,000 citizens live in the un- incorporated areas. <br />Orange County is the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC <br />Hospitals. The University enrolls more than 23,000 students each year, including 15,000 <br />undergraduate and 8,000 graduate students. As a result of the number of students who live here <br />year around, the largest age group is 20 -29 years of age (26.6 %); the median age is 32.8 years. <br />With the increasing number of retirees moving into the area, the county has more people over 70 <br />years of age (6.1 %) than in the 60 -69 age group (5.5 %). <br />The racial breakdown of the population in 1997 is about 79% Caucasian, 17% African American, <br />and 4% Asian, Hispanic or other. Currently, the per cent of people of Asian and Hispanic origin <br />is increasing more than the other groups. <br />2. Income <br />The per capita income for the County is $25,597, the second highest in the state. The median <br />household income is $41,169 and the average household income is $53,763. The majority of <br />income earners are in one of the specialty professions. Forty-six per cent of the County's <br />residents have graduate degrees compared to 34.8% in the Raleigh- Durham Metropolitan Service <br />Area, 17.4% in North Carolina, and 20.3% in the United States. <br />Wages in Orange County increased by 4.5% in 1995, by 8.6% in 1996, and by 2.6% in 1997. <br />Public sector salaries, which increased by 2.3% in 1997, typically do not keep pace with the for - <br />profit sector. The inflation rate is currently at 2.8 %. <br />The average annual wages of private sector employers in Orange County ranges from $35,750 <br />for electronic manufacturing, $35,310 for insurance carriers, $33,383 for wholesale and durable <br />goods down to $11,842 in food stores and $8,972 for eating and drinking establishments. <br />4 <br />