Elon began in 1881 as a railroad stop and was incorporated in 1893, four years after the college that gives it its name. Elon College became Elon University in 2001. About seven thousand students are enrolled on a campus of some six hundred and fifty acres, and the university's Biobus is open to the public, not only to students.
The town itself is small — 11,336 people in the 2020 census, and essentially flat since. That number includes students, which is worth understanding: Elon is not a growth market in the way Mebane or Graham are. What it has is a steady rental demand, a walkable centre on Williamson Avenue, and some of the most attractive older streets in the county.
Just outside the town limits the county opens up. The rural Elon area — where Holly Rose grew up and still lives — is farmland, older houses on acreage and newer builds on large lots. Elon Elementary and Western Alamance High School serve the area, and both are part of the Alamance-Burlington School System.
Two things to check here more than elsewhere. First, whether an address is inside the town limits or in the county, because it changes the tax bill and the services. Second, on anything rural, the well and the septic system: their age, the last inspection, and where the drain field runs. We ask those questions before an offer, not after.
Photo: Indy beetle, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
What we have listed in Elon.
Elon, in the questions people ask us.
Is Elon a good place to buy a rental?
It is the one town in the county with reliable student demand, so plenty of people do. The things that decide whether it works are the distance to campus, the condition of the house, the town's rules for the address, and what the property really rents for over a full year rather than in September. Ask us and we will look at the actual numbers with you.
What is the difference between Elon and "rural Elon"?
The town limits. Inside them you are on town services and pay town tax; outside, you are in the county, usually on a well and septic, on a bigger lot, with a lower tax bill and a longer drive to everything. Both have a 27244 address, so the ZIP will not tell you which one you are looking at.
Which high school serves Elon?
Western Alamance High School, part of the Alamance-Burlington School System. Attendance zones do change, so check the district's zone finder for a specific address before you count on it.
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