343,628 people (2024 Census estimate, +6.5% since 2020)
288 square miles of land · 1,195 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.
21 active community water systems list Durham County in the area they serve, reporting 337,370 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| DURHAM, CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0332010 | 333,490 served |
| HARDSCRABBLE S/D groundwater · private · NC0332139 | 643 served |
| GREYMOSS S/D groundwater · private · NC0332111 | 361 served |
| WILLOW HILL S/D groundwater · private · NC0332119 | 329 served |
| WHISPERING PINES MHP groundwater · private · NC0332106 | 305 served |
| CANTERBURY ESTATES groundwater · private · NC0332122 | 293 served |
| FOX RUN S/D groundwater · private · NC0332116 | 272 served |
| HEATHER GLEN S/D groundwater · private · NC0332121 | 255 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 379 people were held in Durham County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 164 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 429.
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 Durham County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $600.7 million — $480.5 million to run schools, about $15,239 per student, plus $107.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $198.2 million local (mostly property tax), $244 million state, $90.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $198.3 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 Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Durham County about $90.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
313 bridges in Durham County: 113 in good condition, 190 fair, and 10 poor (3.2%). “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.
| US15/US501NBL over SR1308 · built 1956 | 51,000 vehicles a day |
| US501 over ENO RIVER · built 1967 | 30,000 vehicles a day |
| I85NBL US15N over NEUSE RIVER/FALLS LAKE · built 1969 | 21,250 vehicles a day |
| I85S US15S over NEUSE RIVER/FALLS LAKE · built 1969 | 21,250 vehicles a day |
| SR1110 over LITTLE CREEK · built 1979 | 13,000 vehicles a day |
| SR1969 over STIRRUP IRON CREEK · built 1980 | 6,600 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $954.2 million of work in Durham County in fiscal 2025, about $2,938 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 Durham 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 Durham County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Orange County (14 mi) · Wake County (21 mi) · Granville County (22 mi) · Person County (25 mi) · Alamance County (29 mi) · Chatham County (31 mi).