• Population: 51,485 permanent residents, plus 26,000 students during the regular University of North Carolina session, 17,585 in adjacent Carrboro and 120,881 in Orange County.
  • Cost of Living: Above average.
  • Rain: 41.43 inches
  • January High: 51 – January Low: 27
  • July High: 89 – July Low: 66


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View the Historic Beauty of Chapel Hill

A tour of the beautiful town of Chapel Hill, NC – learn about the history of the town and its relationship to the oldest state university in the USA.

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Chapel Hill, North Carolina Details

When the University of North Carolina was chartered in 1789, making it the old est state university in the United States This small, historic city in North Carolina grew up around the nation’s first state university. Chapel Hill, with a population of 5l,485, retains a small-town ambiance in a highly cosmopolitan environment. The town is anchored by the University of North Carolina in a region renowned for higher learning. With Duke University just minutes north in Durham, North Carolina State University 30 miles in the state capital of Raleigh, and an array of high-tech companies in the area, the Research Triangle formed by the three cities boasts more doctorates per capita than anywhere in the country – and. perhaps the world.. Today the same canopy of deciduous trees, including oaks, maples and hickories, shelters many beautiful neighborhoods of Colonial, Georgian and Victorian homes.

Visitors can get a feel for Chapel Hill’s history by stopping at the Horace Williams House, headquarters of the local preservation society, and picking up a map for a self-guided walking tour of downtown. The map highlights homes that date from the early 1800s to the early 1900s, most of them built for UNC professors. The university offers a many opportunities in education and the arts, including campus theater, sym phony concerts and other musical events, as well as museums such as the Ackland Art Museum and the Morehead Planetarium. The UNC medical com plex includes a top-ranked medical school and hospitals for children, women, neurologic and psychiatric patients, and general adult patient care. Providing some of the most advanced medical care in the Southeast, UNC hospitals are leaders in organ transplants, burn care, cancer treatment, dial-Yetes, gastrointestinal diseases, obstetrics and. pediatrics. Duke University, with its renowned medical facilities and programs for retirees and the aging, is minutes away and Raleigh, an easy drive down Interstate 40, offers symphony concerts, off-Broadway plays, ballet, museums, arts and craft shows and, in mid-October, the popular state fair. Nearby Jordan Lake is a heavily used recreational area for hiking, picnicking, swimming, camping, boating and fishing.

Videos of Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Sales Tax

7%. Sales tax exemptions: Prescription drugs, eyeglasses, some medical supplies and most services.

Income Tax

For married couples filing jointly, the rate is graduated from 6% of taxable income up to $21,250 to 8.25% (plus 514,537.50) on amounts over 5200,000. For single filers, it is grad uated from 6% of income up to S 12,750 to 8.25% (plus $8,772.50) on amounts over S120,000.

Income Exemptions

Social Security and railroad retirement benefits are exempt. Up to 52,000 of distributions from private retirement benefits and IRAs (up to the amount reported in federal share of relocated retirees income taxes), or up to 54,000 of government pensions may be exempt. Total deductions may not exceed 54,000 per person.

Estate Tax

Applicable to taxable estates above $2 million.

Property Tax

The rate is 15.48 per 1,000 assessed market value in Chapel Hill and 16.51 per 1,000 in Carrboro. The tax on a $315,172 home in Chapel Hill would be approximately 4,879.

Homestead Exemption

Homeowners age 65 and older or disabled, living in the home and earning 519,700 or less per year, qualify for an exemption of 520,000 or 50% of the value of the home, whichever is greater.

Religion

Churches represent a dozen denominations, with an emphasis on humanitarian issues and community focus.

Education

There are more doctorates per capita in Chapel Hill than any other town in the country. The University of North Carolina was the first state university in the United States and was chartered in 1789 Duke University is located in nearby Durham, and North Carolina State University is located in Raleigh, the state capital.

Health

UNC Hospitals has more than 900 attending physicians and 500 interns with specialized care for patients with complex medical problems, as well as a complete range of routine services geared for all ages. Outpatient surgery programs also are offered, eliminating costly hospital stays. Nearby Duke University Medical Center in Durham also contributes to an area physician-to-patient ratio that is five times the national average.

Housing

Many options are single-family houses, apartments. condos and continuing-care retirement communities (CCRCs) are available Carrboro, Hillsborough and Pittsboro as well as Chapel Hill. Carol Woods. 18C 518-9333, a CCRC on the outskirts Chapel Hill, has both single-family cottages and townhouses in three unit buildings. Carolina Meadows 919- 942-4014, is another CCRC wan 39 apartments and villas on 170 a New courtyard, patio homes and single family homes at Fearrington Villa (919) 542-4000 or (800) 277-0130. in the $350,000s. Resale single-family homes range from 5190,000 $400,000. A guide to a wide range housing alternatives, from independent living and assisted-living CCRCs, Orange County, is available by ca Orange County’s information line, (9 968-2087 or vvyvw.co.orange.nc.us_

Visitors Information

There are numerous hotels, inns and bed-and-breakfast ties, ranging in price from 569 Days Inn, (919) 929-3090, to S2401 up at the Fearrington House 919-542-2121. Other options include Oaks Inn in Chapel Hill, starting at $135 (919) 942-1001; UNC’s Carolina Inn, from $150, (919) 933-2001; Siena (919) 929-4000, $195 and up; Hampton Inn $89-$99, (919) 968-3000; and Best Western University Inn, $84-$94, (919)-932-3000.

Further Details

Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, 104 S Estes Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. 919-967-7075 or http://www.chapelhillcarrboro.org. Chapel Hill-Orange County Bureau, 501 W. Franklin St. Chapel Hill, NC 27516, (919) 968-2060 or http://www.chocvb.org.