Carrboro, North Carolina
2026 Edition · 10 cards · data as of Oct 30, 2026
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Population
Down 1.5% since 2020.
20,962
people, the 49th-largest of North Carolina's cities and towns.
Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among North Carolina's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates
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The workday
9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.
86.7%
of 5,110 jobs located in Carrboro are filled by in-commuters.
Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES
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Rent
Median rent is up 89% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.
$1,470
a month. North Carolina's median is $1,228.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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The seam
Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.
A $1,413 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Orange County.
- $1,413 Tract 107.01
- $2,826 Tract 107.06
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Room to build
The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.
$1,079–$1,619
is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.
- $1,470 median
Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year
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Building
72% of the housing here was built before 2000.
- 498 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
- 24% of those were in multifamily buildings
- 72% of all homes were built before 2000
Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year
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Units needed
Closing the gap would add 0.5% to the 10,189 homes here.
49–55
is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.
Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac
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Home value
A median home costs 87% more than North Carolina's.
$539,400
median home value in Carrboro.
- $539,400 Carrboro
- $288,900 North Carolina
- $332,700 U.S.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year