Welcome to Durham ...
The city of Durham is primarily located in Durham County<1> and is the County Seat for Durham County. A portion of Durham extends into Orange County.
The pronunciation of Durham: DERR-um<2>
Durham was established in 1853.
When the people of Durham refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Durhamite<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Durham has a population of 281,049 people<4> (see below for details).
The community of Durham is 340 feet [104 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Durham lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Telephone area codes for Durham: (919) and (984)<6>
Websites for Durham ...
Official Website: www.ci.durham.nc.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Durham had an population of 281,049 people. This is an increase of 23.09% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 50.27% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Durham had a population of 228,330 people (or 85.33% of the total population of Durham County). This makes Durham the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Durham represents 2.39% of the total population of North Carolina (which has 9,535,483 people), making it the state's 5th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 228,330 people, the population of Durham increased 22.08% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 187,035 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Durham.
Communities Also Named Durham ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 31 communities that are also named Durham - they are located in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana (2), Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey (2), New York, Nova Scotia, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas (3), Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Durham.
Communities near Durham ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Durham.
- Cary
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cary have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
- Cary is located in Chatham County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173,587 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <8>
- Apex
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apex have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
- Apex is located in Wake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,388 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apex <8>
- Chapel Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 63,705 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chapel Hill <8>
- Morrisville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrisville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Morrisville is located in Durham County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,495 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrisville <8>
- Carrboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carrboro have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrboro
- Carrboro is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,239 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrboro <8>
- Butner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butner
- Butner is located in Granville County
- Estimated population in 2015: 7,751 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Butner <8>
- Hillsborough
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsborough
- Hillsborough is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,226 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsborough <8>
- Creedmoor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creedmoor
- Creedmoor is located in Granville County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,615 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Creedmoor <8>
- Stem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast) - The American Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The American Village have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- The American Village is located in Durham County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Durham. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Durham.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Durham. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Durham.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Durham. Our list includes 44 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Durham.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Durham ...
Looking for more information about Durham? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Durham, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Durham.
Adding Durham to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Durham in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Durham was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Durham on a map titled Rand McNally Map of North Carolina (1911).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Durham.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Durham: www.ci.durham.nc.us/
The official website for Durham County: www.co.durham.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of North Carolina's counties, including Durham, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Durham. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Durham refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Durham may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Durham. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Durham - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | Area code (984) is an overlay for area code (919). |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |