Orange County, North Carolina Housing Market

In Orange County, North Carolina, the median home value is $459,500, with a median monthly rent of $1,496. This places Orange County at #180 nationally out of 3134 counties by median home value, and #3 within North Carolina.

Median Home Value $459,500
Median Rent $1,496/mo
Owner Occupancy 63.8%
Price/Rent Ratio 25.6

📈 Price Trend (2017 → 2024)

📊 Recent Market Momentum (FHFA HPI)

FHFA House Price Index — All-Transactions, Annual (2000 = 100) · Latest: 2025

💡 Year-over-Year Trend: Home prices in Orange County rose +3.3% year-over-year as of 2025. (Source: FHFA)

📍 Economic Snapshot

💼

Employment & Wages

41,282
jobs (private sector)
  • Avg weekly wage: $1,378
  • Establishments: 4,982
  • BLS QCEW, 2025
🏗️

Housing Supply

666
new units authorized (2025)
  • Single-family: 299
  • Multi-family: 367
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey
🚚

Migration Patterns

+3621
net migration (filers, 2021-2022)
  • Inflow: 55,764 (avg $147,085)
  • Outflow: 52,143 (avg $147,664)
  • IRS Statistics of Income

📍 Sub-Market Activity

Top 3 active ZIP codes in Orange County · Latest: 2025

# ZIP Code HPI YoY Change Latest Year
1 27243 268.3 -3.88% 2025
2 27514 276.9 +2.22% 2025
3 27510 337.8 +1.77% 2025

Source: FHFA HPI for Five-Digit ZIP Codes (All-Transactions Index, 2000 = 100).
This product uses FHFA Data but is neither endorsed nor certified by FHFA.

How Orange County Compares

MetricOrange CountyNorth Carolina AverageU.S. Average
Median Home Value $459,500 $235,312 $227,706
Median Gross Rent $1,496 $976 $968
Owner Occupancy Rate 63.8% 71.8% 73.3%
Price/Rent Ratio 25.6 19.8 18.7

Market Analysis

The median home value in Orange County is 95.3% above the North Carolina state average and 101.8% above the U.S. national average. The median rent of $1,496/month is 53.3% above the state average.

With a price-to-rent ratio of 25.6, Orange County is a strongly rent-favored market. Home prices are high relative to rents, meaning renting is typically far cheaper than owning in the near term.

Orange County has an owner-occupancy rate of 63.8%, compared to 71.8% in North Carolina and 73.3% nationally. This indicates a more renter-heavy market than the U.S. average.

Similar Counties by Home Value

CountyStateMedian Home ValueMedian Rent
Passaic County New Jersey $459,500 $1,621
Fulton County Georgia $458,800 $1,732
Calvert County Maryland $460,200 $1,759
Dare County North Carolina $460,400 $1,345
Leelanau County Michigan $458,400 $1,228

Other Counties in North Carolina

CountyMedian Home ValueMedian RentOwner Occ.
Dare County $460,400 $1,345 78.4%
Wake County $461,300 $1,623 64.1%
Chatham County $446,200 $1,180 80.6%
Union County $417,300 $1,496 81.6%
Mecklenburg County $406,800 $1,627 55.1%

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates (2017–2024). Variables: B25077 (Median Home Value), B25064 (Median Gross Rent), B25003 (Tenure). Data collected on 2026-10-14. The price-to-rent ratio is calculated as Median Home Value ÷ (Median Monthly Rent × 12).