Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
6 <br /> 1 . In late-January 2026, the US Census Bureau released five-year American Community <br /> 2 Survey (ACS)estimates, and where applicable, the Fact Book has been updated to reflect <br /> 3 the newly released data. <br /> 4 • The 2022 ACS data (derived from 2018— 2022 sample data) included in the original Fact <br /> 5 Book has been replaced with 2024 ACS data (derived from 2020-2024 sample data). <br /> 6 • Data collected by the Planning Department, on annexation and building permit issuance, <br /> 7 have also been incorporated into the update. <br /> 8 <br /> 9 The PowerPoint presentation (Attachment A) represents a sampling of information contained <br /> 10 in the updated Fact Book, as well as housing data that is not part of the Fact Book update. <br /> 11 The slides in the presentation have been selected by staff based on their understanding of <br /> 12 some of the Board's areas of interest, as conveyed during its previous work session <br /> 13 discussions. The following is a summary of some minor changes or differences between the <br /> 14 updated data contained in the presentation and that contained in the original Fact Book: <br /> 15 <br /> 16 Slide 1 —Added date of update, February 2026. <br /> 17 Slide 2 — Included 2019 American Community Survey data for comparison to 2024 data. <br /> 18 Slide 3—Between 2022—2024, Orange County's total population increased by 5,049 persons. <br /> 19 The population of the unincorporated portion of the County increased by 1,207 <br /> 20 people. <br /> 21 Slide 4— No change. <br /> 22 Slide 5 — The Center for Disease Control Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) map was updated <br /> 23 with 2022 data. <br /> 24 Slide 6—480 additional acres were annexed between 2023-2025; 112- acres by Hillsborough <br /> 25 and 368-acres by Mebane. <br /> 26 Slide 7 — 609 additional certificates of occupancy were issued by Orange County between <br /> 27 2024-2025; 568 for residential properties and 41 for commercial properties. <br /> 28 Slide 8—Between 2022—2024, the County's total number of housing units increased by 2,544 <br /> 29 units, from 60,314 total units to 62,858. <br /> 30 Slide 9 —The Housing Cost Burden for Orange County Homeowners was updated with 2024 <br /> 31 data. There was no appreciable change. <br /> 32 Slide 10—The Housing Cost Burden for Orange County Renters was updated with 2024 data. <br /> 33 There was no appreciable change. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 Housing Data: Separate from the data updates to the Fact Book, but relevant to the discussions <br /> 36 regarding growth and land use patterns in the county, staff is providing data and analysis of <br /> 37 residential development activity in Orange County. In Fall 2025, the Board requested information <br /> 38 about residential construction activity throughout Orange County, particularly how many <br /> 39 residential units had been approved but were not yet built or occupied. The Board was interested <br /> 40 in how the county as a whole is responding to the housing needs established in three different <br /> 41 studies done on behalf of the Town of Chapel Hill in 2021 ("Projected Housing Needs 2020 — <br /> 42 2040"), the NC Chamber Foundation in 2024 ("Housing Supply Gap Analysis"), and the Triangle <br /> 43 Community Foundation in 2025 ("Orange County, North Carolina Affordable Housing Market <br /> 44 Data"). <br /> 45 <br /> 46 In response to this request, staff reviewed building activity in unincorporated Orange County and <br /> 47 informally surveyed the Planning departments of the municipalities in Orange County. This work <br /> 48 was done in January 2026, and captures the status of building activity throughout the entire county <br /> 49 for 2025. It was updated to include the Chapel Hill conditional zoning approvals at their February <br /> 50 25 meeting. Table 1 shows the results of the survey for Approved but Unbuilt Residential Units in <br />