Oak Ridge is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, Oak Ridge had a population of 7,474. Oak Ridge is northwest of the center of Greensboro, North Carolina's third-largest city, and it is a part of the Piedmont Triad urban area.
History
The town is home to Oak Ridge Military Academy, a private, co-educational, college-preparatory military boarding school. Founded in 1852, it is the third-oldest military school in the nation still in operation, and it is the official military school of North Carolina, as designated by the state legislature.
Until the late 1990s, the Oak Ridge area was mostly rural farmland with numerous tobacco farms. However, since its incorporation as a town in 1998, Oak Ridge has seen rapid growth in its population. Many of the area's farms have been sold to developers and turned into upper-class housing developments, and several shopping centers have been built along the NC 68 corridor, especially at its intersection with Oak Ridge Road (NC 150), near the military academy.
Each Easter weekend from 1945 to 2013, the community hosted a popular horse show.
The Jesse Benbow House II, Guilford Mill, and Oak Ridge Military Academy Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography
Oak Ridge is located in northwestern Guilford County. It is bordered to the north by Stokesdale, to the east by Summerfield, and to the west by Kernersville. North Carolina Highway 150 (named "Oak Ridge Road") leads east to Summerfield, and west to Kernersville. North Carolina Highway 68 is the main north–south highway through town, and leads north to US 158 in Stokesdale, and south to Interstates 73 and 40 on the west side of Greensboro; downtown Greensboro is southeast of Oak Ridge. Piedmont Triad International Airport is south of the center of Oak Ridge. NC 68 south of I-73 connects the town to High Point, while I-73 connects to central Greensboro.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.92%, is water.
Demographics
2020 census
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Oak Ridge racial composition
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)
| 5,878
| 78.65%
|-
!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
| 349
| 4.67%
|-
!scope="row"| Native American
| 16
| 0.21%
|-
!scope="row"| Asian
| 528
| 7.06%
|-
!scope="row"| Other/Mixed
| 320
| 4.28%
|-
!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino
| 383
| 5.12%
|}
As of the 2020 census, Oak Ridge had a population of 7,474 and 1,969 families residing in the town. The median age was 44.4 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.5 males age 18 and over.
4.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 95.7% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,544 households in Oak Ridge, of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 77.0% were married-couple households, 8.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 11.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 10.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 1,382 households, out of which 44.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.4% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.1% were non-families. 11.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.15.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR driver; attended local military academy prior to his racing career
- Kevin Harvick, NASCAR driver; left in 2014
- Ashnikko, singer and rapper; born here
- Dee Snider, lead singer for Twisted Sister
References
External links
- Town of Oak Ridge official website