OCPB agenda 070214 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

5—7 Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan CHAPTER 5 - Demographics and Driving Factors 5 Conclusion Orange County, as home to the University of North Carolina and UNC Health Care with proximity to the Research Triangle Park and Duke University, continues to see positive population growth as it has for the last century, and especially the last 50 years. While growth rates have slowed somewhat in recent years with the “Great Recession” economic downturn of 2008-2010, the county continues to see population increases both within its municipalities and in the rural parts of the county. Particularly noteworthy is the current and projected future growth in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, the Mebane to Hillsborough (and Cheeks Township) corridor, and other locations across the county – including west of Carrboro and the I-40/I-85 “wedge” in eastern Orange. Overall, an increase of another 40,000 persons from 2010 to 2030 may be expected. The county is seeing changes in its demographics with an influx of persons of Asian descent and of Hispanic or Latino origin – especially in the urban areas of southeastern Orange. The county is among the most-educated counties in the nation, and has a high median household income – a figure which masks significant numbers of low-income house- holds. The major employers in the county are UNC, UNC Health Care and private industry, much of the latter of which is located outside of the county boundaries. Note: Additional graphics, maps and end notes on Orange County demographics may be found in Appendix 5.1 Secondly, as can be seen in table 5-5, while the projection methodology did a very good job of anticipating the total county population, this was not always the case at the township and municipality level. For example, while the projection for Chapel Hill Township as a whole was close to the mark, the breakdown between Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the unincorporated part of the township over projected the latter and under- projected the town of Chapel Hill. In Cheeks Township, annexation and more-rapid growth by the City of Mebane and in the township occurred between 2000 and 2010. Other differences of a like nature may be noted. Overall, however, the projection methodology did match closely to the actual growth of 2000-2010. Time will tell whether this growth pattern will be the best 20-year approximation of population increase. Note – for the Town of Chapel Hill and the City of Mebane, the above numbers represent only the por- tions of those municipalities within Orange County. 63