Alamance County adds 7,012 residents, led by growth in Graham and Mebane

Graham and Mebane are carrying the sharpest growth pressure in Alamance County, and the question now is which local governments are most ready to handle the strain on schools, roads, housing and water and sewer capacity.

The county added 7,012 residents between July 2023 and July 2025, a 3.9 percent increase that kept Alamance County 15th among North Carolina’s 100 counties by population. The latest Census Bureau estimate puts the county at 186,177 residents on July 1, 2025, up from 183,040 a year earlier and up 8.6 percent from the April 1, 2020 census base of 171,475.

The growth was not spread evenly. Graham added 1,777 residents, a 9.7 percent gain, while Mebane added 1,740 residents, an 8.6 percent increase. Burlington remained the county’s largest municipality at 61,496 residents, but it posted the smallest percentage gain among the county’s growing towns. Gibsonville also added residents, and the unincorporated parts of the county continued to grow as well.

That uneven pattern matters because different governments control different pieces of the puzzle. Alamance County planning staff oversee development in the unincorporated parts of the county, while Burlington, Graham, Mebane, Elon, Haw River, Swepsonville and Green Level regulate development inside their own limits. Where growth is concentrated, those local land-use decisions will shape whether residents see new neighborhoods as opportunity or as congestion.

Mebane’s pace stands out beyond county lines. It remained the 48th fastest-growing city among 550 incorporated municipalities in North Carolina between 2020 and 2025, while Graham ranked 52nd statewide over the same span. Recent local reporting has tied Mebane’s growth surge to retail and residential expansion, including redevelopment proposals and new subdivisions, signs that development pressure is already visible on the ground.

For Alamance County officials and the municipalities that are taking in the fastest growth, the scoreboard is clear: Burlington remains the largest base, but Graham and Mebane are absorbing the most momentum. The next round of decisions on roads, schools, utilities and subdivision approvals will determine whether the county’s growth stays manageable or starts to outpace the systems meant to support it.