Durham is a friendly and diverse community with big-city amenities—minus the big-city prices and headaches. Located in the forested Piedmont of North Carolina, Durham is three hours from the mountains and the beach. We have four seasons, including beautiful fall colors and just enough snow that we get excited when it’s in the forecast. Durham is well known for being the City of Medicine, and has a population of 321,488. In 2023, U.S. World & News Report ranked Raleigh and Durham one as of its Best Places to Live.
Here are a few things you can do Durham that you can’t do anywhere else:
- Observe lemurs moving freely through the pines at the Duke Lemur Center, which studies and cares for the largest population of lemurs outside of Madagascar.
- Watch four days of documentaries at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival each spring.
- Attend Bimbé, a 50-year-old festival celebrating African and African American culture, traditions, and music.
- Take a selfie with Major, a 10-foot tall, one-ton brass bull.
Visit Duke University's comprehensive website on living in Durham.
Take a Tour of Durham
The Research Triangle
Durham forms one vertex of the Research Triangle—or simply the Triangle—along with Chapel Hill and Raleigh. Nestled among the pines between Durham and Raleigh is the Research Triangle Park, which is home to more than 190 companies that have created a culture of scientific advancement and collaboration.
If there’s something you can’t find in Durham—whether it’s a special ingredient, performance, or even the perfect research collaborator—you’ll likely be able to find it in Raleigh, home to N.C. State University, or Chapel Hill, home to UNC.
Duke University
Some 15,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attend Duke. Faculty and learners at both Duke University and Duke Health prioritize multi-disciplinary and interprofessional learning and research. Duke Health encompasses the Duke University Health System, Duke University School of Medicine, and Duke University School of Nursing. Duke University Hospital is ranked #1 in the state and among the top health care places in the world. People come from all over to receive top-quality health care at Duke.
History
Durham’s rich history starts with tobacco, which created wealth and jobs. Cigarettes and textiles soon followed. Whites and Blacks flocked to Durham from rural areas to work in factories. Tobacco magnate Washington Duke gave money to bring Trinity College to town in 1890, and his son James Buchanan Duke gave millions more in the mid-1920s to transform Trinity into Duke University including a teaching hospital. Downtown, Black Wall Street flourished on Parrish Street, which was lined with Black-owned businesses including N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Company (established 1898) and Mechanics & Farmers Bank (now M&F, established 1907).
Durham’s economy moved toward medicine and technology with the opening of the Research Triangle Park in 1959. As Durham’s population grew, it continued to diversify. Latinos now make up almost 15% of Durham County. In addition, Durham welcomes refugees from all over the world.
Today, Duke is the largest employer in Durham. Tobacco factories and warehouses have been repurposed into restaurants, shops, apartments, and startups.
What Does it Feel Like to Live in Durham Today?
- This video poem produced by Duke students and faculty captures the feel of Durham in two-and-a-half minutes of spoken word and art.
- Duke trainees talk about Durham
- Why Durham? Hear from students and trainees in the School of Medicine about life in Durham.