Durham Facts

Quick Facts:

Durham is home to Research Triangle Park, Duke and North Carolina Central universities, and many City of Medicine, USA, medical and weight management centers.

Durham City Flag
  • Year Durham County Created: 1881
  • Year Durham Became A Place: 1823
  • Year Durham Got Its Name: 1853
  • Year Durham Re-established: 1869
  • City Population (2007 Estimate): 215,287
  • County Population (2007): 256,500
  • City Population (2008 Projection): 218,179
  • County Population (2008 Projection): 257,947
  • Airport: RDU International Airport, located 12.5 miles from downtown Durham
  • Number Of Lodging Properties: Durham has 60 lodging facilities
  • Number Of Guest Rooms: Durham has more than 7,000 guest rooms
  • Meeting & Event Space: Durham has 300,000 net square feet of meeting space in major hotel convention centers, several conference facilities, and unique meeting venues including the Durham Civic Center Complex with 120,000 usable square feet

Economic Impact Of Durham Visitors:

  • 5.46 million visitors spend $696.1 million each year
  • More than 4,000 conventions and meetings with more than 150,00 delegates
  • 2,000 visitor-sector businesses and organizations
  • More than 10,000 visitor-supported jobs
  • Learn more about the importance of the visitor sector, and the travel and tourism industry

Transportation:

  • Taxi cab - Average cost of a cab from RDU International Airport to Downtown Durham, $29-$30
  • Durham Area Transit - Average cost of riding a City bus, $1.00 and free for youth 12 & under and seniors (transfers are free)
  • Triangle Transit - Triangle Transit has a distance-based fare system, where the farther you travel, the more you pay. Fares usually range from $1.50 to $2.00

Taxes:

  • Lodging: 12.75% total (4.25% state sales tax, 2.5% county sales tax, 6% county occupancy tax)
  • Restaurants 6.75% total (4.25% state sales tax, 2.5% county sales tax)
  • Retail: 6.75% total (4.25% state sales tax, 2.5% county sales tax)
  • Groceries (non-prepared food): 2%
  • Car Rental: 16% in Durham (or 25.61% at RDU International Airport)

National Weather Service

Durham Climate
(919) 515-8225
Provides 24-hour taped message about local weather that is updated throughout the day.

Size & Landscape:

  • 299-square mile single-city county
  • 25 miles long, 16 miles wide and 28 miles from corner to corner and one of the most compact counties in North Carolina at one-half to one-third the land area of neighboring counties
  • 98,000 acres of hardwood and evergreen forests including the only remaining old growth Piedmont bottomland forests
  • 7,800 acres of cropland... hills and dales, meandering rivers and streams, several lakes
  • 26 rare plant species and several rare species of birds and animals

City of Medicine, USA:

Durham is known as the City of Medicine, USA, with healthcare as a major industry including more than 300 medical and health-related companies and medical practices with a combined payroll that exceeds $1.5 billion annually.

Education:

In addition to Duke and NCCU, Durham is home to NC School of Science & Math, Durham Technical Community College, many private schools and progressive Durham Public Schools, the seventh largest school district in the state with 31,000 students and 4,500 employees.

Major Corporate and Research Parks:

  • Research Triangle Park: A 7,000-acre Southeast Durham-based, special county research and production district, encompassed by the city of Durham and served by Durham postal substation, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. More than 140 major research companies employing 39,000.
  • Treyburn: A 5,300-acre corporate park, country club and residential area in Northeast Durham. Companies like bioMérieux and Becton Dickinson and more than 100 families call Treyburn home.

Durham CVB Visitor Services:

  • Durham Visitor Information Center:
    Located at 101 East Morgan Street (corner of Morgan and Mangum). Hours are 8:30am-5pm M-F, 10am-2pm Sa. Official Durham Visitor Guides, maps and an after-hours lobby display and Internet kiosk from 6am-midnight.
  • Durham BULLHORN: (800) 772-BULL (2855):
    A 24-hour voice information recording of events and activities, and a convenient way for visitors to request information any time of the day.
  • Durham Lodging Hotline (For peak visitor periods like graduation and homecomings): (919) 687-0288
  • Web Site: www.durham-nc.com