Burlington is the largest city in Alamance County and the one most people mean when they say they are moving "to Burlington". The 2020 census counted 57,303 people; the Census Bureau put it at 61,365 by 2024, which is about seven per cent growth in four years. Most of the city is in Alamance County, but its western edge crosses into Guilford.
The town exists because of the railroad. It was founded in the 1850s as Company Shops — the North Carolina Railroad put its repair shops here — and was renamed Burlington in 1887. Textiles followed, and the mill villages they built are still some of the most distinctive housing in the county: small, well-made houses on tight streets, many of them now renovated.
What that means for a buyer is that Burlington is really several markets at once. There are the older neighborhoods near downtown and the mills, where the houses have character and the lots are small. There are the post-war ranches. And there is newer construction spreading south and west toward Huffman Mill Road and the county line, where most of the recent building has gone. Prices, taxes and what you get for the money are different in each.
The practical things: inside the city limits you pay city taxes as well as county, and you are on city water and sewer. Out in the county you may be on a well and a septic system, which changes what the inspection needs to cover. The interstate — I-40/I-85 runs along the south side of the city — puts Greensboro about twenty minutes away and Durham about forty-five.
Photo: Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What we have listed in Burlington.
Burlington, in the questions people ask us.
Is it better to buy inside Burlington city limits or out in the county?
It depends what you want from the money. Inside the city you pay city tax on top of county tax and you get city services — water, sewer, trash, closer fire protection. Out in the county the tax bill is lower and the lots are usually bigger, but you are often on a well and septic, and that changes both the inspection and the maintenance. We will price both for you before you decide.
What is the mill housing like?
Burlington grew up around textile mills, and the villages built for their workers are still standing — Glencoe is the best known. The houses are small, plainly built and often full of character, and many have been renovated. On an older mill house, the questions are the roof, the wiring, the heating system and what has been done to it since, which is exactly what a proper inspection is for.
How is the commute to Greensboro or the Triangle?
Burlington sits on I-40/I-85 roughly halfway between them. Greensboro is about twenty minutes, Chapel Hill and Durham about forty-five, and Raleigh a bit over an hour. Plenty of people here work in one metro and live in the other, which is a good part of why the county is growing.
Is there anything to do downtown?
More than there was ten years ago. The downtown historic district has been listed on the National Register since 1990, and the restaurants and shops along Main Street have filled back in. City Park, with the Dentzel carousel, is a few minutes away.
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