Photo: (User:Wgreaves) · CC BY 3.0How is Chapel Hill run?
Chapel Hill’s town government spent $92 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,481 per resident. Water and other utilities ($30.8 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Chapel Hill is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
About $1,481 per resident a year, or $4.06 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: housing & development, at 19%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,166 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Chapel Hill’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,166 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 35 North Carolina cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,200, and the middle half spent $1,032–$1,444. Chapel Hill spent less than 54% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($5.8 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
North Carolina cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Chapel Hill itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 24% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Chapel Hill reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,166 · 2024: $1,481.
full-time in March 2025, up from 684 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $7,191 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.17% of the home’s value, vs 0.66% across North Carolina.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Chapel Hill’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Chapel Hill’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Chapel Hill →
Who’s in charge in Chapel Hill
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Chapel Hill’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The town posts agendas and minutes on townofchapelhill.org ↗.
One full-time town employee for every 80 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (62,098).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools
Chapel Hill’s K–12 school district, shared with Carrboro. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $17,880 per pupil, $11,354 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
North Carolina districts overall: 26% local, 57% state, 17% federal.
Durham Public Schools · $15,851 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Chapel Hill’s votes are counted by county
North Carolina reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Chapel Hill alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Orange County’s results.
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat74.5%65,444 votes
Donald J TrumpRepublican23.7%20,806 votesOthers: 1.8% (1,557 votes).
Most votes in Orange County: Kamala D Harris
North Carolina: Trump 50.9%, Harris 47.6%
95% of Chapel Hill lies in Orange County; the rest in Durham County. Every 2024 race in Orange County is on the county’s page.
Orange County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Chapel Hill.
- 1Your townTown governmentOfficials: townofchapelhill.org ↗
- 2North Carolina HouseChapel Hill is split between 3 districts
- 3North Carolina SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of North Carolina
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Chapel Hill compares with the towns next door
Chapel Hill spent $1,166 per resident in 2022; the neighbor that reported 2022 spent $1,215. Towns that run more services spend more. Tap a town to see its page.
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Chapel Hill’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Chapel Hill’s government
How much does Chapel Hill spend per resident?
About $1,481 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,166 was less than 54% of 35 North Carolina cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Chapel Hill?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $7,191 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.17% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.66% across North Carolina. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see townofchapelhill.org.
Who runs Chapel Hill’s government?
See townofchapelhill.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Chapel Hill yet.
How did Chapel Hill vote in 2024?
North Carolina counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Chapel Hill alone. Orange County, where 95% of Chapel Hill lies, voted Harris 74.5%, Trump 23.7% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Chapel Hill?
775 full-time and 248 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $5.2M (about $62.1M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Chapel Hill in the state legislature?
Chapel Hill is split among 3 State House districts and 2 State Senate districts, so your address decides. The North Carolina Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Chapel Hill’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →