Alamance County, North Carolina

Alamance County is a county in North Carolina, United States, about 20 miles east of
Greensboro and 25 miles northwest of Durham. It had a population of 171,415 at the 2020 census,
an estimated 176,893 by 2024, and covers 423.45 square miles (1,096.7 km2) of land centred near
36°02′N 79°24′W.

Graham is the county seat; its postal code is 27253. The county holds 3 cities, 6 incorporated
towns, 1 village and a handful of census-designated and unincorporated communities, and it runs
on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 37001.

Towns & Villages in Alamance County

Alamance County has 14 named census places on record — 3 cities, 6 towns, 1 village and 4
census-designated places — plus 11 older unincorporated communities that the Census Bureau
does not report population for separately. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp.
covers historic settlements and crossroads with no formal boundary.

Two places on this list straddle county lines. Mebane sits mostly in Alamance County, but two
slivers on its eastern edge extend into Orange County, so its 17,797 residents are not all
Alamance County residents. Gibsonville runs the same way — most of the town lies across the
line in Guilford County, with only a smaller share of its 8,920 people inside Alamance.
Kimesville, an older crossroads community west of Snow Camp, is likewise split between Alamance
and Guilford counties.

ZIP Codes

• 27215 — Burlington and Glen Raven (Burlington’s main code)
• 27216 — Burlington (a Burlington PO box ZIP)
• 27217 — Burlington and Green Level
• 27302 — Mebane
• 27253 — Graham
• 27244 — Elon, Ossipee and Altamahaw (Ossipee was part of the combined
  Altamahaw-Ossipee census area before it incorporated on its own in 2002)
• 27249 — Gibsonville
• 27359 — Swepsonville
• 27258 — Haw River
• 27340 — Saxapahaw
• 27201 — Alamance
• 27349 — Snow Camp

Woodlawn, Glencoe, Bellemont, Carolina, Dogwood Acres, Eli Whitney, Hawfields, Mandale, Mount
Hermon and Pleasant Grove have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the
nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Alamance County sits in North Carolina’s central Piedmont, a belt of rolling hills between
the mountains and the coastal plain. Of its 434.24 square miles, 423.45 are land and 10.79 are
water, about 2.5 percent — most of it along the Haw River, which crosses the county
south-to-north through Saxapahaw, Swepsonville and the town of Haw River before continuing toward
Jordan Lake. Great Alamance Creek, the stream the county is named for, runs through the county
seat and joins the Haw south of Graham.

Caswell County lies to the north, Orange County to the east, Chatham County to the south,
Randolph County to the southwest, Guilford County to the west, and Rockingham County to the
northwest. Caswell County, Orange County, Chatham County, Randolph County, Guilford County and Rockingham County all
border Alamance directly.

Demographics

Alamance County had a population of 171,415 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 176,893 residents as of 2024. Burlington and Mebane are the two largest
communities, together holding well over 40 percent of the county’s population. Median
household income runs $65,651 (2024), lower than North Carolina’s statewide figure of
$70,804 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 405 people per square mile of land,
reflecting the county’s position between the Piedmont Triad and the Research Triangle.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 14,204 people,
followed by manufacturing at 12,214 and retail trade at 10,358. Laboratory Corporation of America
(LabCorp), founded in Burlington, remains the county’s largest single employer, anchoring
downtown Burlington alongside Alamance Regional Medical Center. Elon University, in the town of
Elon, enrolls more than 7,100 students and is one of the county’s largest institutional
employers alongside Alamance-Burlington School System. Glen Raven, Inc., a textile and technical
fabrics manufacturer founded in 1880, still operates from the CDP that carries its name; the
company made the fabric used in the flag planted on the moon in 1969. Honda operates a
manufacturing plant in Swepsonville producing lawn mowers and small engines. The county’s
best-known annual event is the Alamance County Fair, held each September at the fairgrounds in
Burlington.

History

North Carolina’s General Assembly formed Alamance County in 1849, carving it out of the
eastern part of Orange County. The name comes from Great Alamance Creek, itself from a word
describing the blue mud found at the bottom of the creek. Graham, laid out in 1849 and
incorporated in 1851, became the county seat and was named for William Alexander Graham, a US
senator and North Carolina governor.

The county was the site of the largest battle of the War of the Regulation, fought at Alamance
on 16 May 1771, when royal governor William Tryon’s militia defeated a force of backcountry
Regulators protesting corrupt colonial officials. During the Revolutionary War, Banastre
Tarleton’s dragoons killed a group of surrendered North Carolina militiamen near the same
ground in an episode known as Pyle’s Massacre, on 25 February 1781. In the 19th century Edwin
M. Holt built the Alamance Cotton Mill in 1837 and later produced the first factory-dyed cotton
cloth made south of the Potomac, launching a textile industry that shaped Glencoe, Glen Raven and
Burlington — then called Company Shops, after the North Carolina Railroad repair yard built
there in 1857 — for more than a century.

Getting There

Interstates 40 and 85 run together across the county’s northern half, through Mebane,
Graham and Burlington, before splitting near Haw River. US 70 and US 62 also cross the county,
along with NC 49, NC 54, NC 62, NC 87 and NC 119.

• Greensboro — about 20 miles west
• Durham — about 25 miles east
• Chapel Hill — about 20 miles southeast
• Winston-Salem — about 40 miles west

Piedmont Triad International Airport, roughly 20 miles west in Greensboro, is the nearest
major commercial airport. Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport, on the north side of Burlington,
handles general aviation and charter flights. Amtrak’s Piedmont and Carolinian trains stop at
the Burlington station downtown, connecting to Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Alamance County located?
It sits in North Carolina’s central Piedmont, about 20 miles east of Greensboro and 25 miles
northwest of Durham, bordered by Caswell, Orange, Chatham, Randolph, Guilford and Rockingham
counties.

What is the population of Alamance County?
171,415 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 176,893.

How big is Alamance County?
434.24 square miles in total, of which 423.45 square miles are land and 10.79 are water.

What is the county seat of Alamance County?
Graham, incorporated in 1851, is the county seat; Burlington, at 57,303 residents, is the
county’s largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Alamance County?
Three cities — Burlington, Mebane and Graham — six towns, one village, and four census-
designated places, plus older unincorporated communities such as Snow Camp and Glencoe.

What ZIP codes does Alamance County use?
27215, 27216 and 27217 for Burlington and Green Level; 27253 for Graham; 27302 for Mebane; 27244
for Elon, Ossipee and Altamahaw; 27249 for Gibsonville; 27359 for Swepsonville; 27258 for Haw
River; 27340 for Saxapahaw; 27201 for Alamance; and 27349 for Snow Camp.

What is Alamance County known for?
The 1771 Battle of Alamance, its 19th-century textile mill villages such as Glencoe and Glen
Raven, and Elon University in the town of Elon.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in North Carolina.