Chatham County, North Carolina

Chatham County
Chatham County Courthouse in Pittsboro
Chatham County Courthouse in Pittsboro
Flag of Chatham County
Official seal of Chatham County
Official logo of Chatham County
Map of North Carolina highlighting Chatham County
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
Map of the United States highlighting North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°42′N 79°15′W / 35.70°N 79.25°W / 35.70; -79.25
Country United States
State North Carolina
Founded1771
Named forWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
SeatPittsboro
Largest communitySiler City
Area
 • Total708.93 sq mi (1,836.1 km2)
 • Land681.68 sq mi (1,765.5 km2)
 • Water27.25 sq mi (70.6 km2)  3.84%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total76,285
 • Estimate 
(2023)
81,624
 • Density111.91/sq mi (43.21/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district9th
Websitewww.chathamcountync.gov

Chatham County (locally /ˈætəm/ CHAT-əm)[1] is a county located in the Piedmont area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the location of the geographic center of North Carolina, northwest of Sanford.[2] As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,285.[3] Its county seat is Pittsboro.[4]

Chatham County is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.[5]

  1. ^ Talk Like A Tar Heel Archived June 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  2. ^ "Geographic Centers of the United States" (PDF). pubs.usgs.gov. September 3, 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2020CensusQuickFacts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ^ "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals: 2020-2023". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 14, 2024. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2024.