Top Findings from The Chamber's 17th Annual State of the Community Report
Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro is one of the healthiest, well-resourced, and most resilient communities in the state, but a lack of affordable housing and income and educational outcomes require attention.
Chapel Hill, NC: On May 23, 2024, The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro (The Chamber) delivered the 17th annual State of the Community Report and accompanying half-day conference which tracks the well-being of the community across social, economic, and environmental indicators. With the support of local data and funding partners including Carolina Demography, Orange County, the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and The Partnership for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, the 2024 State of the Community Report found that Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro is one of the healthiest, well-educated, well-resourced and most resilient communities in the state; but like many thriving places, it struggles with a lack of affordable housing and constrained housing supply. In addition, racial disparities in educational outcomes and regional income persist and require community attention.
Key takeaways from the State of the Community Report (2024 Databook link) include:
- More housing is needed. Job growth is outpaced housing growth and Orange County now has 6,750 more jobs than people (Databook figure 173). Since 2010, Orange County has added the fewest new residential units in the region (figure 80). 74% of Orange County jobs are filled by in-commuters (figure 115).
- Housing affordability is a top concern. The Orange County median home sale price increased by $121,250 (37%) from 2020 to 2023 (figure 74). New construction in Chatham County continues to drive home sales – 66% of 2023 home sales were new construction (figure 79) - with over half of all homes selling for $600,000 or more (figure 82). Mirroring national trends, median home sale prices were up across the region with Carrboro experiencing tremendous growth. Between 2022 and 2023, the median home sale price in Carrboro increased by $103,050 (22%) (figure 75).
While rent amounts are still up from pre-pandemic prices, monthly rent rates in multifamily units moderated, declining 4.5% over the past seven quarters from their Q2-Q3 2022 peak to $1,553 for the average 2 bedroom Chapel Hill-Carrboro apartment (figure 104).
- Local jobs and wage growth are strong. Orange County continues to be a great place to start and grow a business. In Orange County’s top ten industries, employers added 1,467 net new jobs (figure 169) and Orange County employers paid $41 million more in wages in Q3 2023 than in Q3 2022 (figure 170). Overall, Orange County saw 311 net new establishments in the previous 12 months, with the largest growth occurring in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services sector with 89 new enterprises (figure 168).
- Retail sales exceed all previous years. In 2023, Orange County taxable retail sales reached $2.86 billion dollars, up from $2.66 billion in 2022 (figure 204). Sales tax collections also increased with Orange County sales tax collections exceeding $132 million in FY 2023 (figure 208).
- Local per-capita income leads the state. Chatham County recorded the highest per-capita income ($53,291) with Orange coming in 2nd ($50,449), and Wake 3rd ($50,188) (figure 186). Racial disparities in per-capita income persist, though Orange County ranked in the top quintile among all NC counties (figure 191). For Black per-capita income, Chatham ranked 6th ($31,759) and Orange 19th ($27,589) in the state (figure 187). For Hispanic per-capita income, Chatham ranked 2nd ($35,280) and Orange ranked 6th ($25,443) in NC (figure 188).
- Students regain much of their Covid losses. For the 2022-23 school year, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) led all neighbors in many performance measures—including 3rd Grade Reading EOG scores, 8th Grade Science EOC scores, SAT scores, and ACT scores—with Wake County Schools, Chatham County Schools, and Orange County Schools being the next-highest performing neighboring districts (figures 330, 340, 347, 351, 352). Racial disparities persist across districts: In CHCCS, for example, 82% of White students were Grade Level Proficient in 3rd Grade reading, while only 66% of Asian, 42% of Hispanic, and 38% of Black students were proficient (figure 334). While these gaps are profound, there has been a decrease in the proficiency gap in CHCCS over the past several school years (figures 336 and 337).
- The commercial tax base is growing. The local combined tax rates are high (figure 88), but Chapel Hill’s commercial assessed value grew by 71% ($1.2 billion) and Hillsborough's commercial assessed value grew by $279 million (64%) between 2020 and 2023 reducing government reliance on the residential property tax payer (figures 154 and 153). The county and municipalities are also moving towards a healthier commercial/ residential property value split, with commercial property value now making up 27% of total Orange County property value, up from just 21% in 2020 (figure 156). This is a strong indicator of effective economic development and investment in downtowns.
About the Event 
The Chamber’s 17th annual State of the Community Report was presented by PNC and Triangle Community Foundation. 
Following the presentation, attendees were invited to remain at The Friday Center to participate in any of three breakout discussions:
- Education: Strengthening our Workforce Pipeline moderated by Brett Brenton of myFutureNC. Panelists included Al Ciarochi (Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools), Abe Dones (Durham Technical Community College), Julie Pack (Orange County Schools), and Rodney Trice (Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools).
- Increasing Housing Supply & Affordability moderated by Sarah Viñas of Town of Chapel Hill. Panelists included Delores Bailey (EmPOWERment, Inc.), Lee Bowman (The Legion Company), and Kimberly Sanchez (Community Home Trust).
- Understanding the Business Support System moderated by Sheryl Waddell of Innovate Carolina. Panelists included Tim Flood (Launch Chapel Hill), Joel Harper (SBTDC), and Suling Walker (Durham Technical Community College).
Event Sponsors
The State of the Community Report was Presented by PNC Bank and Triangle Community Foundation.
Program sponsors: Durham Tech and US Foods
Contributing sponsors: Chapel Hill Economic Development, Love Chapel Hill, NC Works4Health, Piedmont Electric Cooperative, RTP, and Work Together NC
Data Partners: Carolina Demography, Orange County, The Partnership for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Town of Chapel Hill, Town of Carrboro and Town of Hillsborough.
Chamber's 2024 Major Investors
Community Champions: Triangle Media Partners, UNC Health, and The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Community Investors: Chapel Hill Media Group, Atma Hotel Group, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, Hendrick Southpoint Automall, PNC
Platinum Sponsors: AT&T, The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, The Daily Tar Heel, Duke Energy, Eller Capital Partners, Enitech, Orange County, RTP
Gold Sponsors: AICPA, Barrister Commercial Group, Brooks Pierce, Carolina Athletics, Carolina Dining Services, Carraway Village, Coastal Credit Union, Curtis Media Group, Durham Tech, East West Partners, Fearrington Village, Fidelity Bank, First Horizon, Glen Lennox, Gonzalez Painters & Contractors, Google, Governor’s Club, Graduate Chapel Hill, Longfellow, Northpond Partners, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Prestige Associates, Top of the Hill, Trinsic Residential Group, Truist, University Place
About The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro: The Chamber is a membership organization that serves and advances the business interests of Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, including the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro as well as southern Orange, northern Chatham, and southwest Durham counties. The Chamber's network includes 2,000 business owners and managers, more than 600-member enterprises that employ more than 95,000 workers throughout the region. Together with its network, The Chamber is committed to building a resilient community where business thrives.
Contact: Aury St. Germain, Director of Communications & Business Development 828-674-8982 (cell), astgermain@carolinachamber.org