Burlington, NC Metro Area
The Burlington, NC metro area is one county in North Carolina: Alamance County. About 186,177 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 8.6% more than in April 2020.
- Population, July 2025
- 186,177 8.6% more than in April 2020
- Type
- Metropolitan statistical area
- County
- Alamance County
- Land area
- 423 sq mi (1,097 km²)
- Time zone
- Eastern TimeUTC-05:00 in January; UTC-04:00 in July
- State
- North Carolina
- Combined statistical area
- Greensboro--Winston-Salem--High Point, NC
- CBSA code
- 15500
The county in the Burlington, NC metro area
| County | Role | Population, July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Alamance County | Central | 186,177 |
A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of at least 50,000 people. This area has no outlying counties: no neighboring county sends enough commuters to join it. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.
Principal city
- Burlington59,610 people
OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
Part of the Greensboro--Winston-Salem--High Point, NC combined statistical area
OMB joins neighboring metro and micro areas into a combined statistical area when enough people commute between them. The other 3 areas in this one, largest first:
- Greensboro-High Point, NC Metro Area805,945 people
- Winston-Salem, NC Metro Area712,206 people
- Mount Airy, NC Micro Area72,287 people
Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first
Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.
- Greensboro-High Point, NC Metro Area20 mi west
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metro Area33 mi east
Before using this answer on a form
A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.
Find the metro area where you are now, find your county, or see every metro and micro area by population.