Welcome to Oak Ridge ...
Oak Ridge is located in Guilford County<1>.
The location of Oak Ridge has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Oak Ridge, you might consider that their post office opened in 1828.
When the people of Oak Ridge refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Oak Ridger<3>
A typical abbreviation for Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Oak Ridge has a population of 7,062 people<4> (see below for details).
Oak Ridge is 930 feet [283 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Oak Ridge lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Oak Ridge lies within the (336) area code.
Websites for Oak Ridge ...
Official Website: www.oakridgenc.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Oak Ridge had an population of 7,062 people. This is an increase of 14.18% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 77.08% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Oak Ridge had a population of 6,185 people. This makes Oak Ridge the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Oak Ridge represents 0.06% of the population of North Carolina (which has 9,535,483 people), making it the state's 114th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 6,185 people, the population of Oak Ridge increased 55.09% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 3,988 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Oak Ridge.
Communities Also Named Oak Ridge ...
While we believe that this Oak Ridge is located in Guilford County, we know of another 3 North Carolina communities named Oak Ridge. Those communities are located in the following counties: Orange, Rowan and Stokes County.
Beyond North Carolina, there are 72 communities that are also named Oak Ridge - they are located in Alabama (4), Arizona, Arkansas, Florida (2), Georgia (4), Illinois (2), Indiana, Kansas (2), Kentucky (4), Louisiana (4), Maine, Maryland (3), Michigan, Mississippi (2), Missouri (6), New Jersey (2), New York, Ohio (3), Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (4), South Carolina (3), Tennessee, Texas (8), Virginia (6) and West Virginia (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
Communities near Oak Ridge ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Oak Ridge.
- Greensboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greensboro
- Greensboro is located in Guilford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 297,878 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greensboro <6>
- Winston - Salem
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston - Salem
- Winston - Salem is located in Forsyth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248,112 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winston - Salem <6>
- High Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
- High Point is located in Guilford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 113,565 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for High Point <6>
- Kernersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kernersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernersville
- Kernersville is located in Forsyth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,891 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kernersville <6>
- Archdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archdale
- Archdale is located in Randolph County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,560 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Archdale <6>
- Walkertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
- Walkertown is located in Forsyth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,290 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walkertown <6>
- Pleasant Garden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Garden
- Pleasant Garden is located in Guilford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,990 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Garden <6>
- Midway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Jamestown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Jamestown is located in Guilford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,528 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jamestown <6>
- Rural Hall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hall
- Rural Hall is located in Forsyth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,299 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rural Hall <6>
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 Oak Ridge. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Oak Ridge. 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 Oak Ridge.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge. See our Newspapers Page for Oak Ridge.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Oak Ridge ...
Looking for more information about Oak Ridge? 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 Oak Ridge, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Oak Ridge.
Adding Oak Ridge to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Oak Ridge 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 Oak Ridge was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Oak Ridge post office opened in 1828.
We also found Oak Ridge in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Oak Ridge.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Oak Ridge: www.oakridgenc.com/
The official website for Guilford County: www.co.guilford.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 Guilford, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Oak Ridge refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Oak Ridge 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 Oak Ridge. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Oak Ridge - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |