152,877 people (2024 Census estimate, +6.4% since 2020)
398 square miles of land · 385 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.
29 active community water systems list Orange County in the area they serve, reporting 113,607 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ORANGE WATER & SEWER AUTHORITY surface water · local government · NC0368010 | 86,500 served |
| HILLSBOROUGH, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0368015 | 14,006 served |
| ORANGE-ALAMANCE WATER SYSTEM surface water · private · NC0368020 | 9,223 served |
| STONERIDGE MASTER groundwater · private · NC0368185 | 681 served |
| RIDGEWOOD MHP groundwater · private · NC0368130 | 330 served |
| BIRCHWOOD MHP groundwater · private · NC0368105 | 312 served |
| ROBIN`S WOOD groundwater · private · NC0368145 | 246 served |
| MAPLE RIDGE MHP groundwater · private · NC0368122 | 216 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 92 people were held in Orange County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 89 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 140.
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.
2 school districts have their office in Orange County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $211.3 million — $196.1 million to run schools, about $16,963 per student, plus $12.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $93.8 million local (mostly property tax), $80.7 million state, $18.9 million federal.
Spent $117.9 million — $103.8 million to run schools, about $14,399 per student, plus $6.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $46.3 million local (mostly property tax), $52.7 million state, $13.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $173.2 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 Orange County about $49.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
189 bridges in Orange County: 75 in good condition, 98 fair, and 16 poor (8.5%). “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.
| I85S over SR1713 · built 1958 | 32,750 vehicles a day |
| I85N US70E over US70W.BUS · built 1958 | 32,750 vehicles a day |
| I85N over SR1713 · built 1958 | 23,000 vehicles a day |
| US70 over ENO RIVER · built 1922 | 11,000 vehicles a day |
| NC86 over SOUTHERN RAILWAY · built 1954 | 11,000 vehicles a day |
| SR1005 over MORGAN CREEK · built 1939 | 8,300 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $586.4 million of work in Orange County in fiscal 2025, about $3,944 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 Orange 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 Orange County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Durham County (14 mi) · Alamance County (16 mi) · Person County (24 mi) · Chatham County (26 mi) · Caswell County (26 mi) · Granville County (31 mi).