North Carolina · county seat: Durham
Durham County, NC
About Durham County
Durham County combines the city of Durham with open countryside a few miles out. The City of Durham is the county seat, much of Research Triangle Park is here, and small parts of Chapel Hill, Morrisville, Cary and Raleigh also lie in the county.
Outside the city, the county is surprisingly green. Eno River State Park follows a rocky river through forests and historic mill sites, Falls Lake reaches into the county's northeast, and Duke Forest's thousands of acres of research forest are open for walking and running. Rural communities such as Bahama keep a farm-country feel.
Durham County funds Durham Public Schools and Durham Technical Community College. Rural areas are served by fire districts that add a small tax to the county rate.
Towns in Durham County
Property tax rates, 2026 tax year
The county rate is $0.5792 per $100 of tax value: about $2,317 a year on a $400,000 tax value. Every address pays it, plus its town's rate, or a fire district's rate outside the towns.
| Town | Town rate | With county rate | On a $400,000 home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | $0.4371 | $1.0163 | $4,065 |
| Chapel Hill (Durham County portion) | $0.5000 | $1.0792 | $4,317 |
| Morrisville (Durham County portion) | $0.3500 | $0.9292 | $3,717 |
| Cary (Durham County portion) | $0.3675 | $0.9467 | $3,787 |
| Raleigh (Durham County portion) | $0.3720 | $0.9512 | $3,805 |
Fire and special districts (9)
| District | District rate | With county rate |
|---|---|---|
| City of Durham Business Improvement District (downtown) · City rate plus 0.07 downtown district | $0.5071 | $1.0863 |
| Bahama Fire District | $0.0883 | $0.6675 |
| Eno Fire District | $0.0684 | $0.6476 |
| Lebanon Fire District | $0.0919 | $0.6711 |
| New Hope Fire District | $0.0791 | $0.6583 |
| Redwood Fire District | $0.0932 | $0.6724 |
| Mangum (county only) | $0.0470 | $0.6262 |
| Durham County Fire & Rescue Service District | $0.0829 | $0.6621 |
| Durham County Fire/Rescue RTP Special · Fire 0.0829 + RTP service 0.078 + RTP transit 0.025 | $0.1859 | $0.7651 |
Fees on the tax bill: Solid waste fee $185 (out-of-county $275).
Source: Durham County Tax Administration, "2026 Tax Rates (FY 2026-2027)", checked 2026-10-20. The combined rate is the county rate plus the town or district rate, except where noted. Your bill is your county tax value times the combined rate, divided by 100.
Durham County's budget, FY2027
FY2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027). Adopted by the Board of Commissioners on June 8, 2026, with a 2.5-cent tax increase.
- Durham Public Schools (county appropriation): $239.1 million p. 5
- Durham Technical Community College: $13 million p. 5
General Fund by function p. 2
- The 2.5-cent increase raises about $21.4 million. More county money goes to Durham Public Schools ($14.5 million more) and pre-K. p. 1
Sources: Durham County FY 2026-27 Signed Budget Ordinance; Durham County FY 2026-27 Approved Budget Summary; Durham County 2025 Tax Rates (FY 2025-2026). Figures copied from the documents; each page link opens the page it came from.