Orange County, North Carolina

Orange County
County
Orange County Courthouse
Flag Seal Logo
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°04′N 79°07′W / 36.06°N 79.12°W / 36.06; -79.12
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1752
Named for	Unknown; possibly William V of Orange or William of Orange[1]
Seat	Hillsborough
Largest community	Chapel Hill
Area
• Total	400.96 sq mi (1,038.5 km2)
• Land	397.56 sq mi (1,029.7 km2)
• Water	3.40 sq mi (8.8 km2)  0.85%
Population  (2020)
• Total	148,696
• Estimate  (2023)	150,626
• Density	374.02/sq mi (144.41/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	www.orangecountync.gov

Orange County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 148,696.^[2] Its county seat is Hillsborough.^[3]

Orange County is included in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.^[4]

It is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the flagship institution of the University of North Carolina System and the oldest state-supported university in the United States.