Chatham County is a county in North Carolina, United States, about 34 miles west of Raleigh via US 64. It had a population of 76,285 at the 2020 census, an estimated 85,111 by 2024, and covers 708.93 square miles (1,836.1 km2) centred near 35°42′N 79°15′W.
Pittsboro is the county seat; its postal code is 27312. The county holds 3 incorporated towns, 8 census-designated places and 17 unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 37037.
Towns & Villages in Chatham County
Chatham County has 28 named places on record: 3 incorporated towns, 8 census-designated places (CDPs) recognized by the Census Bureau, and 17 unincorporated crossroads communities with no formal boundary of their own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers hamlets and rural crossroads that show up on maps but have no local government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Siler City | Town | 7,702 | 27344 |
| Briar Chapel | CDP | 5,108 | 27516 |
| Pittsboro | Town · seat | 4,537 | 27312 |
| Fearrington Village | CDP | 2,557 | 27312 |
| Governors Club | CDP | 1,969 | 27517 |
| Governors Village | CDP | 1,512 | 27517 |
| Moncure | CDP | 780 | 27559 |
| Carolina Meadows | CDP | 727 | 27517 |
| Bennett | CDP | 284 | — |
| Goldston | Town | 234 | 27252 |
| Gulf | CDP | 122 | 27256 |
| Asbury | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bear Creek | Unincorp. | — | 27207 |
| Bells | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bonlee | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brickhaven | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bynum | Unincorp. | — | 27228 |
| Carbonton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Corinth | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Crutchfield Crossroads | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Farmville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Farrington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Harpers Crossroads | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Haywood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lockville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Seaforth | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Silk Hope | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wilsonville | Unincorp. | — | — |
Six names from the old list could not be traced to any current source and were dropped: Griffins Crossroads, Gum Springs, Johnsons Crossing, Merry Oaks, Mount Vernon Springs and Terrells. Cary, a large Wake County town, does reach into Chatham’s northeast corner with a few neighborhood-sized annexed sections, but it has no meaningful population inside the county line, so it is not listed as a Chatham place here.
ZIP Codes
- 27312 — Pittsboro (also covers Fearrington Village)
- 27344 — Siler City
- 27252 — Goldston
- 27256 — Gulf
- 27559 — Moncure
- 27207 — Bear Creek
- 27228 — Bynum
- 27516 — Briar Chapel (a Chapel Hill ZIP)
- 27517 — Governors Club, Governors Village and Carolina Meadows (a Chapel Hill ZIP)
Bennett and the unincorporated crossroads communities — Asbury, Bells, Bonlee, Brickhaven, Carbonton, Corinth, Crutchfield Crossroads, Farmville, Farrington, Harpers Crossroads, Haywood, Lockville, Seaforth, Silk Hope and Wilsonville — have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.
Geography
Chatham County sits in North Carolina’s Piedmont, a belt of rolling hills between the mountains and the coastal plain. Of its 708.93 square miles, 681.68 are land and 27.25 are water, about 3.8 percent. The Haw River and Deep River converge near Moncure to form the Cape Fear River, the county’s dominant waterway. B. Everett Jordan Lake, a major flood-control reservoir in the New Hope River basin, covers part of the county’s northeast corner and supplies drinking water and recreation to the wider Triangle region.
Durham County and Orange County lie to the north, Wake County to the northeast, Harnett County to the southeast, Lee County to the south, Moore County to the southwest, Randolph County to the west, and Alamance County to the northwest. Durham County, Orange County, Wake County, Harnett County, Lee County, Randolph County and Alamance County all border Chatham directly. Moore County has no live North Carolina page on this site to link to.
Demographics
Chatham County had a population of 76,285 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county near 85,111 residents, growth driven largely by commuters from the nearby Research Triangle. Siler City, with 7,702 people, and Briar Chapel, a planned community CDP with 5,108, are the two largest communities. Median household income runs $94,317 (Data USA, 2024), well above North Carolina’s statewide figure of $70,804 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to about 112 people per square mile of land, low for a Piedmont county this close to Raleigh, reflecting how much of Chatham is still farmland and forest.
Economy & Local Life
Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector at roughly 5,416 workers, followed by educational services at 4,554 and manufacturing at 4,378. Chatham County Government and Chatham County Schools employ heavily around Pittsboro, along with the Chatham County Justice Center and a cluster of non-profit and social-service agencies. Siler City has drawn poultry-processing jobs since the 1990s, and Wolfspeed’s new silicon carbide wafer factory near Siler City is expected to create up to 1,800 jobs. The Chatham Park development around Pittsboro, a 7,100-acre project with 22,000 planned homes, is reshaping the county seat’s economy toward retail and commuter income. The county’s biggest annual event is the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance, held near Pittsboro each May and again each October.
History
North Carolina’s colonial assembly formed Chatham County in 1771, carving it out of Orange County and naming it for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, a British prime minister. During the Revolutionary War, on 17 July 1781, Loyalist colonel David Fanning raided the Chatham Courthouse and captured 53 people, including three members of the North Carolina General Assembly. The 1881 Chatham County Courthouse in Pittsboro burned on 25 March 2010 while under renovation. Through the 20th century the county’s economy ran on textiles and poultry processing before shifting, more recently, toward commuter income and technology manufacturing.
Getting There
No interstate highway crosses Chatham County. US 1, US 15, US 64, US 421 and US 501 all run through it, along with several state routes connecting Pittsboro and Siler City.
- Raleigh — about 34 miles east
- Chapel Hill — about 17 miles north
- Sanford — to the south, in Lee County
- Greensboro — to the west
Raleigh-Durham International Airport, northeast of the county, is the nearest major commercial airport. Siler City Municipal Airport handles general aviation and charter traffic within the county. Amtrak’s Piedmont and Carolinian trains stop at the Cary station, northeast of Chatham, connecting to Raleigh and Charlotte.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chatham County located?
It sits in North Carolina’s Piedmont, about 34 miles west of Raleigh, bordered by Durham, Orange, Wake, Harnett, Lee, Moore, Randolph and Alamance counties.
What is the population of Chatham County?
76,285 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 85,111 by 2024.
How big is Chatham County?
708.93 square miles (1,836.1 km2), of which 681.68 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Chatham County?
Pittsboro, home to Chatham County government and the county justice center.
How many towns and villages are in Chatham County?
Three incorporated towns — Siler City, Pittsboro and Goldston — plus 8 census-designated places and 17 unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes does Chatham County use?
27312 for Pittsboro, 27344 for Siler City, 27252 for Goldston, 27256 for Gulf, 27559 for Moncure, 27207 for Bear Creek and 27228 for Bynum, plus the Chapel Hill ZIPs 27516 and 27517 for the county’s eastern CDPs.
What is Chatham County known for?
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival, the Chatham Park development around Pittsboro, and a growing silicon carbide manufacturing industry led by Wolfspeed’s new Siler City factory.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in North Carolina.