83,874 people (2024 Census estimate, +9.4% since 2020)
681 square miles of land · 123 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
20 active community water systems list Chatham County in the area they serve, reporting 47,839 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CHATHAM CO-NORTH surface water · local government · NC0319126 | 23,088 served |
| SILER CITY, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0319010 | 8,520 served |
| PITTSBORO, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0319015 | 6,708 served |
| CHATHAM CO-SW CHATHAM buys surface water · local government · NC0319050 | 2,470 served |
| CHAPEL RIDGE S/D buys surface water · private · NC4019009 | 2,098 served |
| CHATHAM CO-ASBURY buys surface water · local government · NC4019010 | 1,540 served |
| GOLDSTON-GULF SANITARY DIST buys surface water · local government · NC0319025 | 1,187 served |
| BEECHWOOD COVE/POLKS LANDING buys surface water · private · NC0319110 | 406 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 48 people were held in Chatham County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 100 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 71.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Chatham County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $146.8 million — $129 million to run schools, about $14,130 per student, plus $12.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $55 million local (mostly property tax), $69.1 million state, $18.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $137.8 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Chatham County about $24.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
243 bridges in Chatham County: 109 in good condition, 131 fair, and 3 poor (1.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SR1007 over DEEP RIVER · built 1959 | 950 vehicles a day |
| SR1953 (CLOSED) over ROCKY RIVER · built 1921 | 390 vehicles a day |
| SR1956 over ROCKY BRANCH · built 1979 | 160 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $2.9 million of work in Chatham County in fiscal 2025, about $38 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-09. Early voting: 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-31. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-20. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: NC State Board of Elections: upcoming election · NC State Board of Elections: vote in person · NC State Board of Elections: voter ID
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Chatham County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Chatham County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Lee County (16 mi) · Alamance County (25 mi) · Orange County (26 mi) · Moore County (31 mi) · Durham County (31 mi) · Randolph County (31 mi).