SafekipediaDurham County, North Carolina
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
Durham County is a place in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the sixth-most populous county in the state, with a population of 324,833 as counted in the 2020 census. The main city in the county is Durham, which is also the county seat.
The area has both busy urban parts and quiet rural areas. The central and southern parts are full of buildings and homes, while the northern part has open spaces and farms. Southeastern Durham County is home to the Research Triangle Park, a big area for science and technology work.
Durham County is part of a larger group of places called the Durham–Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. This area is also linked with the Raleigh–Durham–Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, which has many people living there, about 2,368,947 in 2023.
History
See also: Timeline of Durham, North Carolina
Durham County was created on April 17, 1881. It was formed from parts of Orange County and Wake County and was named after its main city, which is also its county seat. Later, in 1911, some land from Cedar Fork Township in Wake County was added to Durham County and became Carr Township.
Geography
Durham County in North Carolina covers a total area of 297.86 square miles (771.5 km2), with 286.53 square miles (742.1 km2) of land and 11.33 square miles (29.3 km2) of water.
The county has many special places to visit, such as Bennett Place State Historic Site, Duke Homestead and Tobacco Factory, East Durham Historic District, Eno River State Park, Falls Lake State Recreation Area, Historic Stagville, Museum of Life and Science, and more.
Major highways in the area include I-40, I-85, I-540 / NC 540 Toll, I-885 / NC 885 Toll, US 15, US 15 Bus., US 70, US 70 Bus. (Durham), US 70 Bus. (to Orange County), US 501, NC 54, NC 55, NC 98, NC 147, NC 157, NC 751, and NC 751 Truck.
The county is near several water bodies, including B. Everett Jordan Lake, Crabtree Creek, Ellerbe Creek, Eno River, Falls Lake, Flat River, Lake Michie, Little River, New Hope Creek, and Stirrup Iron Creek.
Durham County is surrounded by Person County to the north, Granville County to the northeast, Wake County to the east-southeast, Chatham County to the south, and Orange County to the west.
The area also has important infrastructure such as Durham Station.
Demographics
2020 census
In the year 2020, Durham County had 324,833 people living there. The average age was 35 years. About 20% of the people were younger than 18, and about 14% were 65 or older.
Most households were made up of individuals, but some had families living together. There were many different kinds of families, including married couples and single parents.
The people in Durham County come from many different backgrounds. The largest groups are White and Black or African American. There are also smaller numbers of Asian and American Indian and Alaska Native people.
Fertility rates
The number of babies born each year in Durham County has stayed about the same in recent years. Most babies are born to women who are about 30 to 34 years old. Between 2022 and 2024, there were around 20,604 births in the county.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 18,041 | — | |
| 1900 | 26,233 | 45.4% | |
| 1910 | 35,276 | 34.5% | |
| 1920 | 42,219 | 19.7% | |
| 1930 | 67,196 | 59.2% | |
| 1940 | 80,244 | 19.4% | |
| 1950 | 101,639 | 26.7% | |
| 1960 | 111,995 | 10.2% | |
| 1970 | 132,681 | 18.5% | |
| 1980 | 152,785 | 15.2% | |
| 1990 | 181,835 | 19.0% | |
| 2000 | 223,314 | 22.8% | |
| 2010 | 267,587 | 19.8% | |
| 2020 | 324,833 | 21.4% | |
| 2025 (est.) | 347,240 |  | 6.9% |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020 | |||
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1980 | Pop 1990 | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 95,086 | 108,722 | 107,371 | 112,697 | 133,768 | 62.24% | 59.79% | 48.08% | 42.12% | 41.18% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 55,017 | 67,385 | 87,516 | 100,260 | 109,225 | 36.01% | 37.06% | 39.19% | 37.47% | 33.62% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 175 | 406 | 531 | 722 | 704 | 0.11% | 0.22% | 0.24% | 0.27% | 0.22% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 979 | 3,189 | 7,311 | 12,180 | 16,707 | 0.64% | 1.75% | 3.27% | 4.55% | 5.14% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | x | x | 65 | 135 | 83 | x | x | 0.03% | 0.05% | 0.03% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 249 | 79 | 436 | 700 | 1,809 | 0.16% | 0.04% | 0.20% | 0.26% | 0.56% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x | x | 3,045 | 4,816 | 12,433 | x | x | 1.36% | 1.80% | 3.83% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,279 | 2,054 | 17,039 | 36,077 | 50,104 | 0.84% | 1.13% | 7.63% | 13.48% | 15.42% |
| Total | 152,785 | 181,835 | 223,314 | 267,587 | 324,833 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Law and government
See also: Durham Police Department (North Carolina)
Durham County is part of the Central Pines Regional Council. It is led by a group of five elected leaders called county commissioners. They include Chair Brenda A. Howerton, Vice Chair Wendy Jacobs, Nimasheena Burns, Heidi Carter, and Nida Allam. Each serves a four-year term. The county's top law enforcement leader is the sheriff, currently Clarence Birkhead, who was elected in 2018 and is the first African American to hold this position.
Politics
Durham County often supports Democratic leaders in elections for national, state, and local positions. It has rarely chosen Republican leaders, only doing so in two elections long ago, in 1928 and 1972. Since the 1990s, Durham County has been known for strongly supporting Democratic leaders in the South.
Communities
The city of Durham is the main city in Durham County and also serves as its county seat. While Durham is mostly within Durham County, small parts of it stretch into nearby counties. Other nearby cities and towns, like Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Morrisville, are mostly located in other counties but have tiny sections that reach into Durham County. Many smaller places in Durham County, such as Gorman and Rougemont, are not officially incorporated as cities or towns.
Durham County includes several areas known as townships, such as Carr, Durham, and Lebanon. There are also places called census-designated places and unincorporated communities, like Bahama and Bethesda, which are small areas without their own local government.
Notable person
One well-known person from Durham County was Margaret O'Neal. She was a sharecropper who lived from 1884 onward.
Images
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Durham County, North Carolina, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.