Elon, North Carolina

Elon, North Carolina
Town
North Williamson Avenue
Flag Seal Logo
Motto:  "Deep Roots. New Horizons."
Location of Elon, North Carolina
Coordinates: 36°07′36″N 79°29′44″W / 36.12667°N 79.49556°W / 36.12667; -79.49556
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Alamance
Founded	1881
Incorporated	1893
Named after	Hebrew word for oak.[1]
Government
• Mayor	Emily Sharpe
Area [2]
• Total	4.22 sq mi (10.94 km2)
• Land	4.17 sq mi (10.81 km2)
• Water	0.050 sq mi (0.13 km2)
Elevation [3]	705 ft (215 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	11,336
• Density	2,717.0/sq mi (1,049.03/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	27244
FIPS code	37-21095
GNIS feature ID	2406445[3]
Website	www.townofelon.com

Elon (/ˈiːlɔːn/) is a town in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington metropolitan statistical area. The population as of the 2020 census was 11,324.^[4] The town of Elon is home to Elon University.

Elon began in 1881 as a North Carolina Railroad depot in between the stations of Goldsboro and Charlotte, called "Mill Point” because it was envisioned to be a shipping point for area cotton mills. Locals called it “Boone’s Crossing.” Because of a growing population, a post office was built, which established a more permanent residency in 1888.^[5]

In 1889, the local Christian Assembly created an institution of higher learning called the “Graham Normal College”. The founders of Elon College named the school “Elon”, because they understood that to be the Hebrew word for oak, and the area contained many oak trees.^[5] The town was called "Elon College" until the college known as Elon College became Elon University. The town then changed its name officially to Elon.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10.2 km²), of which 3.9 square miles (10.1 km²) is land and 0.039 square miles (0.1 km²), or 1.23%, is water.^[6]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	638		—
1910	200		−68.7%
1920	425		112.5%
1930	373		−12.2%
1940	494		32.4%
1950	1,109		124.5%
1960	1,284		15.8%
1970	2,150		67.4%
1980	2,873		33.6%
1990	4,394		52.9%
2000	6,738		53.3%
2010	9,419		39.8%
2020	11,336		20.4%
2021 (est.)	11,350	[4]	0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[7][8]

As of the 2020 census, Elon had a population of 11,336. The median age was 21.5 years. 9.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 72.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 70.7 males age 18 and over.^[9][10]

98.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.5% lived in rural areas.^[11]

There were 2,851 households in Elon, of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. The census also counted 1,888 families in the town. Of all households, 45.8% were married-couple households, 18.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[9]

There were 3,175 housing units, of which 10.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.5%.^[9]

As of the census^[12] of 2010, there were 9,419 people, 2,794 households, and 1,357 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,415.1 inhabitants per square mile (932.5/km²). There were 3,063 housing units at an average density of 785.4 per square mile (303.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.7% White, 8.5% African American, 0.1% Native American, 2% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.1% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.

There were 2,794 households, out of which 18.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.4% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.1% under the age of 20, 30.7% from 20 to 24, 9.5% from 25 to 44, 13.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21.8 years.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,542, and the median income for a family was $86,985. The per capita income for the town was $23,313. About 0% of families and 18.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Public schools in Elon are part of the Alamance-Burlington School System, which was created by a merger between the Alamance County School System and the Burlington City School System in 1996.

Local public schools in Elon include:

• Altamahaw-Ossipee Elementary School
• Elon Elementary
• Western Alamance Middle
• Western Alamance High

Elon University is also located in Elon, North Carolina.

Elon University provides a bus system known as the Biobus for use by both students of the university as well as the general public. Certain routes travel from the campus to destinations within the town of Elon as well as the surrounding area.^[13]

• Official website