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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
<br />Orange County is well known for its rich history, outstanding educational and employment
<br />opportunities, and diverse and friendly citizens. Nestled in the hills of the North Carolina
<br />Piedmont, Orange County is located strategically between the Research Triangle Park and the
<br />Triad cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, With more than 100,000 citizens,
<br />Orange County includes historic Hillsborough, the County seat, Chapel Hill, home of the
<br />University of North Carolina, and Carrboro, a former railroad and mill town. When Orange
<br />County was founded in 1752, five Native American tribes lived in this area, The Town of
<br />Hillsborough was the center of North Carolina politics in the colonial era and hosted the state's
<br />Constitutional Convention in 1778, where North Carolina delegates demanded that a Bill of
<br />Rights be added before they would ratify the U,S, Constitution.
<br />Orange County lies on the western edge of the Research Triangle area, which is anchored on
<br />three sides by UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and Duke University. Research
<br />Triangle Park is home to leading technological companies and institutions, Orange County is
<br />part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
<br />which comprises six Counties in the Research Triangle Area,
<br />Housing Market Analysis
<br />General Market Conditions
<br />Orange County's population has increased by more than 25% between 1990 and 2000 (rising
<br />from 93,662 to 118,227), The County is expected to experience continued growth through 2010,
<br />with the population increasing to a projected 140,750. The North Catalina Office of State
<br />Planning estimates that the population in the County in 2003 is 120,881. While mast of the
<br />County's population is centered in Chapel Hill (46,798 in 2000), the areas experiencing the most
<br />rapid growth are Carrboro and Hillsborough. It is estimated that almost one-third (32%) of
<br />Chapel Hill's population are students enrolled at the University of North Carolina, Over 40% of
<br />the County's population lives in Chapel Hill. Less than 20% of the population lives in other
<br />municipalities with the remaining 39.4% living in the remainder of Orange County, The number
<br />of households in Orange County, according to the 2000 Census, was 45,863, which represents
<br />a 27% increase in households since 1990.
<br />The racial composition of Orange County is changing, As a percentage of the total population,
<br />whites make up 78 % of the County and the Town of Chapel Hill, Blacks comprise 13,8 % of
<br />Orange County (11 % of Chapel Hill). The mast dramatic increase in racial groups is in the
<br />Hispanic community, where the population grew from 1,279 in 1990 to 5,273 by 2000,
<br />representing a 312.3% increase and 4.5% of the total population in Orange County, The Asian
<br />population grew 105.2% during this same period and now makes up 4,1% of the total
<br />population.
<br />The unemployment rates for Orange County have been 2% or mare below the statewide
<br />unemployment rates and about 3% to 4% below the national unemployment rates for the past
<br />10 years. In Orange County, unemployment has ranged from a low of only 1.1% in 1999 to a
<br />high of 3,2% in 2002.
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