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5—1
<br />Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan
<br /> CHAPTER 5 - Demographics and Driving Factors 5
<br />Demographics and Driving Factors
<br />
<br />Background
<br />
<br />The population of Orange County is 138,000 persons
<br />(137,941) as of July, 20121. Approximately two-
<br />thirds (2/3) of the population resides within the
<br />boundaries of the municipalities of Chapel Hill
<br />(55,474 within Orange County) and Carrboro
<br />(20,433). Almost 10,000 of Chapel Hill residents are
<br />students living on-campus at the University of North
<br />Carolina (UNC).
<br />
<br />The town of Hillsborough is home to 6,271 persons,
<br />while Mebane’s population of 12,685 includes
<br />approximately 2,000 persons on the Orange County
<br />side of this city. Table 5-1 shows the relative
<br />population change by locality in the last 12 years.
<br />Municipality 2000 2010 2012
<br />Orange County - Total 115,531 133,801 137,941
<br />Carrboro 16,782 19,582 20,433
<br />Chapel Hill (part)2 46,019 54,397 55,474
<br />Hillsborough 5,446 6,087 6,271
<br />Mebane (part) 675 1,793 2,000
<br />Durham (part) 39 30 32
<br />Unincorporated
<br />Orange County 46,570 51,912 53,731
<br />*Around 2,950 Chapel Hill residents in 2012 live in the
<br />Durham County portion of town. Most of the residents of
<br />Mebane (12,685) and Durham (239,358) are in Alamance
<br />and Durham counties, respectively.
<br />Table 5-1: Orange County Population 2000 -2012
<br />In general terms, the population of the combined
<br />towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro urban area (i.e.,
<br />the town populations plus those persons living on
<br />the town fringes) stands at around 81,000. The
<br />Town of Hillsborough “urban area” includes
<br />approximately 10,000 persons, with another 6,000
<br />persons living in the Efland to Mebane corridor of
<br />the county west of Hillsborough.
<br />
<br />Approximately 41,000 persons live in the rest of
<br />“rural” Orange County. As a general benchmark,
<br />roughly half of these persons reside south of
<br />Interstate 85, and half north of this highway - that
<br />bisects the county.
<br />While the U.S. Census Bureau updated some
<br />population data for July 2012, other demographic
<br />data was not updated. For these data, the 2010 US
<br />Census remains the most-recent information. As
<br />such, the most recent population at the township
<br />level is from the 2010 Census. As shown in Table
<br />5-2, Orange County has seven townships with widely
<br />-varying populations. The townships include
<br />populations within municipalities that lie within the
<br />township borders.
<br />Table 5-2: Population by Townships and
<br /> Municipalities within Orange County
<br />Municipality 2010
<br />Bingham Township 6,527
<br />Cedar Grove Township 5,222
<br />Chapel Hill Township3 87,971
<br />Chapel Hill (part) 54,397
<br />Carrboro 19,582
<br />Unincorporated 13,992
<br />Cheeks Township 9,313
<br />Mebane (part) 1,793
<br />Unincorporated 7,520
<br />Eno Township 7,501
<br />Hillsborough Township 13,809
<br />Hillsborough 6,087
<br />Unincorporated 7,722
<br />Little River Township 3,458
<br />Orange County - Total 133,801
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