Guilford County, North Carolina

2025-10-29T02:47:57Z

45.26.213.97:

{{Short description|County in North Carolina, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
| county = Guilford County
| state = North Carolina
| seal = Guilford County nc seal.png
| founded = 1771
| named for = [[Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford]]
| seat = [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]]<br />(courthouse also located in [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]])
| largest city = Greensboro
| city type = community
| area_total_sq_mi = 657.63
| area_land_sq_mi = 645.92
| area_water_sq_mi = 11.71
| area percentage = 1.78
| population_as_of = 2020
| population_total = 541299
| pop_est_as_of = 2024
| population_est = 558816 {{gain}}
| population_density_sq_mi = 838.03
| coordinates = {{coord|36.08|-79.79|type:adm2nd_region:US-NC_source:USCensusBureau2020gazetteerfiles|display=inline,title}}
| time zone = Eastern
| web = www.guilfordcountync.gov
| district = 5th
| district2 = 6th
| district3 = 9th
| ex image = Guilford County Courthouse.jpg
| ex image cap = Old [[Guilford County Courthouse]] in Greensboro
| flag = Guilford County Flag.gif
}}

'''Guilford County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[North Carolina]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 541,299,<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts"/> making it the [[List of counties in North Carolina|third-most populous county]] in North Carolina. The [[county seat]] and largest community is [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> Since 1938, an additional county court has been located in [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]]. The county was formed in 1771.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/NC_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=North Carolina: Individual County Chronologies|work=North Carolina Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|publisher=The Newberry Library|date=2009|access-date=January 24, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115449/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/NC_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vocci |first=Robert Blair |year=2006 |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=William S. |title=Guilford County |url=https://ncpedia.org/geography/guilford |access-date=January 24, 2015 |website=NCpedia |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref> Guilford County is included in the Greensboro-High Point, NC [[Metropolitan Statistical Area]], which is also included in the Greensboro–[[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]]–High Point, NC [[Piedmont Triad|Combined Statistical Area]].

==History==
[[File:Guilford Courthouse Historical Marker Greensboro North Carolina.JPG|thumb|right|220px|State historical marker for Guilford Courthouse]]
At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Guilford County were a [[Siouan languages|Siouan]]-speaking people called the [[Cheraw]].<ref name="Arnett1955">{{cite book|author=Ethel Stephens Arnett|title=Greensboro, North Carolina: the county seat of Guilford|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEATAAAAYAAJ|access-date=November 8, 2012|year=1955|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|page=7}}</ref> Beginning in the 1740s, settlers arrived in the region in search of fertile and affordable land. These first settlers included American [[Quakers]] from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New England at what is now Greensboro,<ref name=Hinshaw2>{{cite book|last=Hinshaw, William Wade|first=(Marshall, Thomas Worth, compiler)|title=Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, vol. 1|orig-year=1936|year=1991|publisher=Genealogical Publishing Co.|location=Baltimore, MD|isbn=0806301783|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam00gene/page/487 487–488]|chapter=New Garden Monthly Meeting, Guilford County, NC|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam00gene/page/487}}</ref> as well as German Reformed and Lutherans in the east, [[United Kingdom|British]] Quakers in the south and west, and Scotch-Irish [[Presbyterian]]s in the center of today's Guilford County.<ref name="nc architecture">{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NccTgQkmPIEC|publisher=[[UNC Press]]
|year=2005|pages=322
|title=North Carolina Architecture |first=Catherine |last=Bishir|isbn=9780807856246
}}</ref> As population increased, the North Carolina colonial legislature organized the county in 1771, from parts of [[Rowan County, North Carolina|Rowan]] and [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange]] counties. It was named for [[Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford|Francis North]], [[Earl of Guilford]], father of [[Frederick North, Lord North]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] from 1770 to 1782.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA146 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=146}}</ref>

Friedens Church, whose name means "peace" in German, is in eastern Guilford County, at 6001 [[North Carolina Highway 61|NC Hwy 61]] North, northwest of [[Gibsonville, North Carolina|Gibsonville]]. It is a historic church established by some of the earliest European settlers in this area. According to a church history, Rev. John Ulrich Giesendanner led his Lutheran congregation from Pennsylvania in 1740 into the part of North Carolina around Haw River, Reedy Fork, Eno River, Alamance Creek, Travis Creek, Beaver Creek, and Deep River. Friedens Church built a log structure in 1745, which the congregation used for 25 years. The second building, completed about 1771, was more substantial and was used for a century, being replaced in May 1871. That third building was destroyed by fire on January 8, 1939, with only the front columns surviving destruction. The church was rebuilt and reopened in May 1939.<ref>Apple, Lalah G. ''Two Hundred Twenty-Five Years History of Friedens Lutheran Church 1745 - 1970''.</ref>

The [[Quaker]] meeting also played a major role in the European settlement of the county. Numerous Quakers still live in the county. New Garden Friends Meeting, established in 1754 and first affiliated with a Pennsylvania meeting, still operates in Greensboro.

Alamance Presbyterian Church, a log structure, was built in 1762. The congregation was not officially organized until 1764 by the Rev. Henry Patillo, pastor of [[Hawfields, North Carolina|Hawfields]] Presbyterian Church. It has operated since then on the same site in present-day Greensboro. According to the church history, the congregation has built five churches on that site and now has its eighteenth pastor.<ref>[http://www.alamancechurch.org/content.cfm?id=2063 "History of Alamance Presbyterian Church"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801040910/http://www.alamancechurch.org/content.cfm?id=2063 |date=August 1, 2012 }}, official website. Accessed May 25, 2010</ref>

On March 15, 1781, during the [[American Revolution]] (1775–1783), for independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], the [[Battle of Guilford Court House]] was fought just north of present-day Greensboro between Generals [[Charles Cornwallis]] and [[Nathanael Greene]]. This battle marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War in the South. Although General Cornwallis, the British commander, held the field at the end of the battle, his losses were so severe that he decided to withdraw to the Carolina coastline, where he could receive reinforcements from the British [[Royal Navy]] at the port in [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] and his battered army could be protected by the British naval power. His decision ultimately led him to take his army north into [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]], leading eventually to his defeat and surrender later in October 1781 at [[Yorktown, Virginia]], after a long siege, by a combined force of American and French Royal troops and blockading French Navy warships on the [[Chesapeake Bay]].{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

In 1779, the southern third of Guilford County was separated and erected as [[Randolph County, North Carolina|Randolph County]]. In 1785, following the American Revolution, the northern half of its remaining territory was organized as [[Rockingham County, North Carolina|Rockingham County]].{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

In 1808, the town of Greensboro replaced the hamlet of [[Guilford Court House, North Carolina|Guilford Court House]] as the county seat. It was more centrally located, making it a better location for travelers of the time.

The county was the site of early industrial development, namely, the Mt. Hecla Cotton Mill, established in 1818 as one of the earliest cotton mills in the state. First run by water power, the mill was refitted to be powered by steam, and was one of the earliest examples in the state of the use of steam power for manufacturing.<ref>Arnett, Ethel Stephens. ''Greensboro, North Carolina; the County Seat of Guilford.'' Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1955. p. 166</ref>

In the antebellum era, many of the county's residents were opposed to [[slavery]], including Lutherans, Quakers and Methodists. The county was a stop on the [[Underground Railroad]], for which volunteers aided refugee slaves en route to freedom in the North.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Erickson |first=Gwen |title=LibGuides: Underground Railroad in Guilford College Woods: The History and the Stories |url=https://library.guilford.edu/c.php?g=656676&p=5029507 |access-date=June 6, 2022 |website=library.guilford.edu |language=en}}</ref> People gave them safe places to stay and often food and clothing. [[Levi Coffin]], among the founders of the "railroad," was a Guilford County native. He is credited with personally helping more than 2,000 slaves escape to freedom before the war.

[[Guilford College]] was founded in 1837 as the New Garden Boarding School; its name was changed in 1888 when the academic program was expanded considerably. Guilford is the third-oldest coeducational institution in the country and the oldest such institution in the South. [[Greensboro College]], established by the [[Methodist Church]] through a charter secured in 1838, was one of the earliest institutions of higher education for women in the United States. It became coeducational in 1954.<ref name="GC">{{cite web|title=About Greensboro College|url=https://www.greensboro.edu/museum-aboutgc/|publisher=Greensboro College|access-date=May 15, 2017}}</ref>

In 1873 [[Bennett College]] was founded in the basement of the Warnersville Methodist Episcopal Church (now St. Matthew's Methodist Church) with 70 African American male and female students. In 1926, the school became a women-only college, as it continues to be today.<ref name="BC">{{cite web|title=About Bennett|url=http://www.bennett.edu/about/|publisher=Bennett College|access-date=May 15, 2017}}</ref>

In 1891, Greensboro was selected as the home of a land-grant institution for African Americans, the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race, now known as [[North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University]]. It was the nation's second college established under the federal [[Morrill Act]] of 1890 and was the first state-supported school for people of color in North Carolina.<ref name="NCAT">{{cite web|title=North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Faculty Handbook|url=http://www.ncat.edu/legal/policies/sec2-acad-affairs/faculty-handbook/Chapter%20II.pdf|publisher=N.C. A&T State University|access-date=October 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222031907/http://www.ncat.edu/legal/policies/sec2-acad-affairs/faculty-handbook/Chapter%20II.pdf|archive-date=February 22, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Also in 1891, the county became home to the state's first and only publicly supported institution of higher learning for women, the State Normal and Industrial School, established in Greensboro especially to train teachers. In 1932, the school joined with the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] and [[North Carolina State University]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] to form the Consolidated University of North Carolina; it was renamed as the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. From the 1930s to the 1960s, the Woman's College was the third-largest women's university in the world. In 1963, the university was changed to a coed institution, and its curriculum was gradually expanded to include graduate work. It is now known as the [[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of UNCG |url=https://www.uncg.edu/inside-uncg/inside-history.php |website=UNC Greensboro |access-date=February 23, 2019 |archive-date=October 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021225638/http://www.uncg.edu/inside-uncg/inside-history.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Immanuel Lutheran College (North Carolina)|Immanuel Lutheran College and Seminary]] was located on a small campus on East Market Street from 1905 until it closed in 1961. "Lutheran" was founded by white ethnic German Lutherans for black students in 1903 in [[Concord, North Carolina|Concord]], at a time when education was racially segregated and blacks had limited access to higher education. When the school moved to the county seat of Greensboro, Lutherans built a large granite main building for it. The school operated a high school, junior college, and seminary under the jurisdiction of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America]].

In 1911, a new county called Piedmont County was proposed, with High Point as its county seat, to be created from Guilford, [[Davidson County, North Carolina|Davidson]] and [[Randolph County, North Carolina|Randolph]] counties. Many people appeared at the courthouse to oppose the plan, vowing to go to the state legislature to protest. The state legislature voted down the plan in February 1911.<ref>Jack Scism, "Remember When?", ''Greensboro News & Record'', January 23, 2011.</ref><ref>Jack Scism, "Remember When?", ''Greensboro News & Record'', February 6, 2011.</ref> The same year, Guilford County became one of the first U.S. counties to have its own [[public health]] department.<ref>{{cite book|title=McKenzie's An Introduction to Community & Public Health|publisher=Jones and Bartlett Learning|last1=Seabert|first1=Denise M.|last2=McKenzie|first2=James F.|last3=Pinger|first3=Robert R.|edition=Tenth|year=2022|isbn=9781284202687|chapter=Chapter 1: Community and Public Health: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow|at=Location 497j}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/01/09/guilford-county-health-department-j-89|title=Guilford County Health Department (J-89)|website=NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources|date=9 January 2024|access-date=24 December 2024}}</ref>

In 1960 North Carolina still operated by racial segregation laws, and maintained the [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchisement of most black voters]] established at the end of the 19th century to suppress the Republican Party. Following World War II, African-American veterans and young people heightened their activities in the [[American civil rights movement]]. Guilford County was the site of an influential protest in 1960 when four black students from the [[North Carolina A&T State University]] in Greensboro started an early [[sit-in]]. Known afterwards as the [[Greensboro Four]], the four young men sat at a "whites-only" lunch counter at the [[International Civil Rights Center and Museum|Woolworth's store in downtown Greensboro]] and asked to be served after purchasing items in the store. When refused, they asked why their money was good enough for buying retail items, but not food at the counter. They were arrested, but their action led to many other college students in Greensboro – including white students from [[Guilford College|Guilford]] and the Women's College – to sit at the lunch counter in a show of support. The students carried on a regular sit-in and within two months, the [[sit-in movement]] spread to 54 cities in nine states; Woolworth's eventually agreed to desegregate its lunch counters, and other restaurants in Southern towns and cities followed suit.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

A darker racial incident in 1979 was called the [[Greensboro massacre]]. In this incident the predominantly African American [[Communist Workers' Party (United States)|Communist Workers Party]] (CWP) led a march protesting the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and other white-supremacist groups through a black neighborhood in southeastern Greensboro. They were attacked and shot at by KKK and [[American Nazi Party]] members; five of the Communist Party marchers were killed and seven wounded in the attack. In 1980 the case attracted renewed national attention when the six shooter defendants were found "not guilty" by an [[all-white jury]]. None of the people involved in this shooting, from either side, was a citizen of Guilford County; they simply chose the county seat of Greensboro as a rallying point. In 1985 families and friends of the victims won a civil case for damages against the city police department and other officials for failure to protect the African Americans; monies were paid to the Greensboro Justice Center.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

==Geography==
{{maplink|frame=yes|zoom=8|id=Q502257|type=shape-inverse|text=Interactive map of Guilford County}}
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|657.63|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|645.92|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|11.71|sqmi}} (1.8%) is water.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2022 |title=2020 County Gazetteer Files – North Carolina |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_counties_37.txt |access-date=September 9, 2023 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

The county is drained, in part, by the [[Deep River (North Carolina)|Deep]] and [[Haw River|Haw]] rivers.

===National protected area===
* [[Guilford Courthouse National Military Park]]

===State and local protected areas/sites===
* Cascades Preserve (part)
* [[Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum]]
* Company Mill Preserve
* [[Greensboro Arboretum]]
* [[Haw River State Park]] (part)
* Piedmont Environmental Center
* Rich Fork Preserve (part)

===Major water bodies===
* Back Creek
* Beaver Creek
* [[Belews Lake]]
* [[Big Alamance Creek]]
* Buffalo Creek
* Buffalo Lake
* [[Deep River (North Carolina)|Deep River]]
* [[Haw River]]
* [[Hickory Creek (Deep River tributary)|Hickory Creek]]
* Lake Brandt
* Lake Higgins
* Lake High Point
* Lake Mackintosh
* Lake Townsend
* [[Little Alamance Creek]]
* [[Mears Fork]]
* [[Moores Creek (Reedy Fork tributary)|Moores Creek]]
* North Buffalo Creek
* Old Hollow Lake
* Reddicks Creek
* [[Reedy Fork (Haw River tributary)|Reedy Fork]]
* Rock Creek
* South Buffalo Creek
* [[West Fork Deep River]]

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Rockingham County, North Carolina|Rockingham County]] – north
* [[Alamance County, North Carolina|Alamance County]] – east
* [[Randolph County, North Carolina|Randolph County]] – south
* [[Davidson County, North Carolina|Davidson County]] – southwest
* [[Forsyth County, North Carolina|Forsyth County]] – west
* [[Stokes County, North Carolina|Stokes County]] – northwest

===Major highways===
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|40}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|85}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|73}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|74}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|85}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I-Future|685}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|785|I-Future|785|nolink2=yes}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|840}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|US|29}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|US|70}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|US|158}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|US|220}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|US|421}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|22}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|61}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|62}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|65}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|68}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|100}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|150}}

===Major infrastructure===
* [[Amtrak Thruway#East|Amtrak Thruway]] (High Point Station)
* [[High Point station|High Point Station]]
* [[J. Douglas Galyon Depot]] (Greensboro Station)
* [[Piedmont Triad International Airport]]

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 7300
|1800= 9442
|1810= 11420
|1820= 14511
|1830= 18737
|1840= 19175
|1850= 19754
|1860= 20056
|1870= 21736
|1880= 23585
|1890= 28052
|1900= 39074
|1910= 60497
|1920= 79272
|1930= 133010
|1940= 153916
|1950= 191057
|1960= 246520
|1970= 288590
|1980= 317154
|1990= 347420
|2000= 421048
|2010= 488406
|2020= 541299
|estyear=2024
|estimate=558816
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2024">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html|title=County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 21, 2025}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 17, 2015}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=January 17, 2015}}</ref> 1900–1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/nc190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 27, 1995|access-date=January 17, 2015}}</ref><br />1990–2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=January 17, 2015}}</ref> 2010<ref name="QF"/> 2020<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/guilfordcountynorthcarolina|title=QuickFacts: Guilford County, North Carolina|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Guilford County racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US37081&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 20, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
| 255,640
| 47.23%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 179,423
| 33.15%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 1,918
| 0.35%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 28,719
| 5.31%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
| 216
| 0.04%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
| 23,231
| 4.29%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 52,152
| 9.63%
|}
[[File:NC Guilford Census Tracts.svg|thumb|235x235px|Map of census tracts in Guilford County by racial plurality, per the 2020 US Census. Tract 9801, home to PTI, has no population.
{{Collapsible list|title=Legend|
{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}

'''Non-Hispanic White'''
{{legend| #e6b8af|30–40%}}
{{legend|#dd7e6b|40–50%}}
{{legend|#cc4125|50–60%}}
{{legend|#a61c00|60–70%}}
{{legend|#85200c|70–80%}}
{{legend|#5b0f00|80–90%}}
{{legend|#410b00|90%+}}

'''Hispanic or Latino'''
{{legend|#d0e0e3|30–40%}}
{{col-2}}

'''Black or African American'''
{{legend|#fcf7e7|20–30%}}
{{legend|#fff2cc|30–40%}}
{{legend|#ffe599|40–50%}}
{{legend|#ffd966|50–60%}}
{{legend|#f1c232|60–70%}}
{{legend|#bf9000|70–80%}}
{{legend|#7f6000|80–90%}}
{{col-end}}
}}]]

As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], there were 541,299 people, 206,950 households, and 132,323 families residing in the county.

===2010 census===
At the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]],<ref name="QF">{{cite web |title=State & County QuickFacts |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/37081.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606235936/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/37081.html |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |access-date=October 19, 2013 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> there were 500,879 people, 192,064 households, 63% of which owned their own housing. The [[population density]] was {{convert|648|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people}}. There were 180,391 housing units at an average density of {{convert|278|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units}}. The racial makeup of the county was 64.53% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 29.27% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.46% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 2.44% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.03% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 1.81% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.45% from two or more races. 3.80% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 168,667 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.00% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 13.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.90% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 31.40% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,618, and the median income for a family was $52,638. Males had a median income of $35,940 versus $27,092 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $23,340. About 7.60% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 13.80% of those under age 18 and 9.90% of those age 65 or over.

==Government and politics==
The county is governed by a Board of Commissioners, containing a representative for each of nine districts, with each member serving a four-year term.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 5, 2023 |title=Board of Commissioners |url=https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/our-county/board-of-commissioners |access-date=May 5, 2023 |website=www.guilfordcountync.gov |language=en}}</ref>

Guilford County is a member of the regional [[Councils of governments in North Carolina|Piedmont Triad Council of Governments]].

Since [[1928 United States presidential election in North Carolina|1928]] Guilford has been somewhat of a [[List of election bellwether counties in the United States|bellwether county]]. It has voted for the winner of every presidential election but four. The exceptions include [[1960 United States presidential election in North Carolina|1960]], when [[Richard Nixon]] carried it despite his loss to [[John F. Kennedy]]; [[2016 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2016]], where [[Hillary Clinton]] carried the county despite her loss to [[Donald Trump]], and [[2024 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2024]] where Democrat [[Kamala Harris]] won the county despite her loss to [[Donald Trump]]. It also narrowly voted for Democrat [[John Kerry]] in [[2004 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2004]] after having voted for Republican [[George W. Bush]] in 2000.

Like most other urban counties around the country, it has voted for Democrats by wide margins in every election since 2004.

{{PresHead|place=Guilford County, North Carolina|whig=no|source1=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>}}

{{PresRow|1880|Democratic|2,233|2,280|22|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1884|Democratic|2,262|2,422|56|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1888|Republican|2,721|2,462|361|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|2,532|2,773|674|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|3,455|3,479|70|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|3,296|3,335|45|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|1,716|2,763|21|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|2,863|3,822|73|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|460|3,830|2,048|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|3,670|4,616|44|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|7,920|9,615|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|6,822|8,804|317|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|16,541|9,872|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|9,263|19,301|495|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|9,514|25,579|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|9,770|26,565|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|12,962|23,495|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|14,167|17,224|3,958|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|33,310|29,028|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|32,751|21,948|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|41,357|30,486|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|35,635|39,969|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|38,996|25,604|19,751|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|61,381|25,800|1,185|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|45,441|46,826|473|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|53,291|44,516|4,815|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|73,096|46,027|213|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|66,060|50,351|821|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|60,140|66,319|19,940|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|67,727|69,208|10,652|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|84,394|80,787|1,083|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|98,254|100,042|1,018|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|97,718|142,101|1,952|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|104,789|146,365|2,698|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|98,062|149,248|10,095|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|107,294|173,086|4,106|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2024|Democratic|109,077|171,118|4,858|North Carolina}}
{{PresFoot}}

===Guilford County Sheriff's Office===
The Guilford County Sheriff's Office is the law enforcement agency for Guilford County, headquartered in downtown Greensboro. It provides primary law enforcement services for the unincorporated areas of Guilford County and to municipalities that have not established their own police departments. Three district offices provide patrol, investigative and administrative services to county residents.

The Sheriff's Office supplements the Greensboro and High Point city police departments, having full jurisdiction and ability to provide law enforcement services within both municipalities. The Sheriff's Office maintains detention centers in both Greensboro and High Point, and provides security to the state courthouses in both cities. The Sheriff's Office has approximately 750 employees and is the second largest full service sheriff's office in North Carolina.

The Guilford County Sheriff is elected every four years by county wide ballot. Funded by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, county government provides some administrative support.

==Health and life expectancy==
Of 3,142 counties in the United States in 2014, the [[Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation]] ranked Guilford County 1,330 in the average life expectancy at birth of male residents and 1,434 in the life expectancy of female residents. Males in Guilford County lived an average of 76.1 years and females lived an average of 80.6 years compared to the national average for life expectancy of 76.7 for males and 81.5 for females.<ref name="Guilford County">{{cite web |title=Guilford County, North Carolina |url=http://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/county_profiles/US/2015/County_Report_Guilford_County_North_Carolina.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702015845/http://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/county_profiles/US/2015/County_Report_Guilford_County_North_Carolina.pdf |archive-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |website=Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=December 29, 2020}}</ref> In the 1980-2014 period, the average life expectancy in Guilford County for females increased by 4.0 years, while male life expectancy increased by 6.7 years compared to the national average for the same period of an increased life expectancy of 3.1 years for women and 5.5 years for men.<ref>{{cite web |title=US Health Map |url=https://vizhub.healthdata.org/subnational/usa |website=Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=December 28, 2020}}</ref>

In 2020, the [[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]] ranked Guilford country as 23rd of 100 ranked counties in North Carolina in "health outcomes," as measured by length and quality of life.<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 North Carolina Report |url=https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-carolina/2020/rankings/outcomes/overall
|website=Robert Wood Johnson Foundation |access-date=December 27, 2020}}</ref>

==Communities==
[[File:Map of Guilford County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels.PNG|thumb|300px|Map of Guilford County with municipal and township labels]]

===Cities===
* [[Archdale, North Carolina|Archdale]] (part)
* [[Burlington, North Carolina|Burlington]] (part)
* [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]] (county seat and largest community)
* [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]] (part)

===Towns===
{{div col}}
* [[Gibsonville, North Carolina|Gibsonville]] (part)
* [[Jamestown, North Carolina|Jamestown]]
* [[Kernersville, North Carolina|Kernersville]] (part)
* [[Oak Ridge, North Carolina|Oak Ridge]]
* [[Pleasant Garden, North Carolina|Pleasant Garden]]
* [[Sedalia, North Carolina|Sedalia]]
* [[Stokesdale, North Carolina|Stokesdale]] (part)
* [[Summerfield, North Carolina|Summerfield]]
* [[Whitsett, North Carolina|Whitsett]]
{{div col end}}

===Townships===
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* Bruce
* Center Grove
* Clay
* Deep River
* Fentress
* Friendship
* Gilmer
* Greene
* Jefferson
* Madison
* Monroe
* [[Morehead Township, Guilford County, North Carolina|Morehead]]
* Oak Ridge
* Rock Creek
* Sumner
* Washington
{{div col end}}

===Census-designated places===
* [[Forest Oaks, North Carolina|Forest Oaks]]
* [[McLeansville, North Carolina|McLeansville]]

===Unincorporated communities===
* [[Browns Summit, North Carolina|Browns Summit]]
* [[Climax, North Carolina|Climax]]
* [[Colfax, North Carolina|Colfax]]
* Ellisboro
* Guilford
* [[Julian, North Carolina|Julian]]
* [[Monticello, Guilford County, North Carolina|Monticello]]

==Notable people==
* [[Joseph Gurney Cannon|Joseph Cannon]], 35th [[speaker of the United States House of Representatives]] (1903–1911)<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=c000121|title=CANNON, Joseph Gurney, (1836 - 1926) |dictionary= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date= November 26, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Mike Causey]] 11th [[North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance|Commissioner of Insurance of North Carolina]] (2017–)
* [[Levi Coffin]], [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] leader who was nicknamed the "President of the [[Underground Railroad]]" for helping escaped slaves to freedom in the North before the Civil War
* [[Dolley Madison]], wife of President [[James Madison]] and the fourth [[First Lady of the United States]]
* [[Edward R. Murrow]], American broadcast journalist
* [[William Sydney Porter]], short-story writer better-known as "[[O. Henry]]"; his most famous stories are "[[The Ransom of Red Chief]]" and [[The Gift of the Magi]].
* [[Ryan Wesley Routh]], alleged attempted assassin of former president and presidential candidate [[Donald Trump]]

==See also==
* [[List of counties in North Carolina]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Guilford County, North Carolina]]
* [[Haw River Valley AVA]], wine region partially located in the county
* [[Guilford County Schools]]
* [[USS Guilford (APA-112)|USS ''Guilford'' (APA-112)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation |title=Branson's North Carolina Business Directory...1867-68 |publisher=Branson & Jones |location=Raleigh, NC |chapter-url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101065143529&seq=96&view=2up |page= 51 |chapter= Guilford County |via= [[hathitrust.org]] }}
* {{citation |title=Branson's North Carolina Business Directory, 1896 |publisher=Levi Branson |location=Raleigh, NC |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/bransonsnorthcar1896bran/page/306/mode/2up |page= 307 |chapter= Guilford County |via= [[archive.org]] }}
* {{citation |chapter-url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nc01.ark:/13960/t2r49km5g&seq=268&view=2up |chapter= Guilford County |title=North Carolina Year Book and Business Directory, 1916 |publisher=News and Observer Publishing Company |location= Raleigh, N.C. |via= hathitrust.org }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{osmrelation|2528705}}
* {{Official website|https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130321160652/http://ncgenweb.us/nc/guilford/ NCGenWeb Guilford County], genealogy resources for the county

{{Geographic Location
|Centre = Guilford County, North Carolina
|North = [[Rockingham County, North Carolina|Rockingham County]]
|Northeast =
|East = [[Alamance County, North Carolina|Alamance County]]
|Southeast =
|South = [[Randolph County, North Carolina|Randolph County]]
|Southwest = [[Davidson County, North Carolina|Davidson County]]
|West = [[Forsyth County, North Carolina|Forsyth County]]
|Northwest = [[Stokes County, North Carolina|Stokes County]]
}}
{{Guilford County, North Carolina}}
{{North Carolina}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Guilford County, North Carolina| ]]
[[Category:1771 establishments in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1771]]
[[Category:Majority-minority counties in North Carolina]]

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Guilford County, North Carolina