Burlington, NC Homes For Rent

Homes for Rent in Burlington, NC: What You Need to Know

Burlington is a city in Alamance County in the north-central part of North Carolina. It’s known as the Hosiery Center of the South for its legacy as a top textile producer.  

Local History

In the 1850s, the North Carolina Railroad selected the area known today as Burlington as the site of its repair facilities. The town was chartered as Company Shops in 1866. When the railroad moved its repair facilities to Spencer, residents renamed their town Burlington. The city was incorporated in 1893. Burlington’s small manufacturing operations became large-scale textile operations in the 1920s. During its heyday, Burlington had over 30 hosiery mills and about 15 yarn-manufacturing plants, hence its nickname. 

Job Opportunities

Today, Burlington has a diverse economy based on manufacturing, medical testing, distribution, and consumer-goods industries. LabCorp, one of the world’s largest medical testing companies, is based in Burlington. It’s Alamance County’s largest employer with more than 3,000 workers. LabCorp traces its roots to Biomedical Reference Laboratories, founded in Burlington in 1969. The city’s other big employers include Cone Health Alamance Regional, Honda Power Equipment, GKN Driveline North America, and Alamance-Burlington School System. 

Things to Do in Town

To appreciate Burlington’s rich past, visit the Glencoe Mill Village, the best-preserved cotton mill complex in America. The 105-acre site is located on the banks of the Haw River. It features a mill, wheelhouse, picker and dye houses, warehouses, an office, a company store, and the Textile Heritage Museum. Enjoy the outdoors in the Cedarock Park, a 500-acre nature preserve and historic farm along the banks of Rock Creek in the Cane Creek Mountains. The park has six miles of hiking trails, another six miles of horseback riding paths, and two 18-hole disc golf courses.

Cost of Living

You can save on general expenses in Burlington, where the cost of living rate and housing costs are 4.6% and 39.6% lower than the national average, respectively. However, food cost is 4.4% higher than the national average. In North Carolina, residents pay a flat income tax rate of 5.25% and 6.75% to 7.50% in sales tax.

Know Your Neighborhoods

Burlington is a small city (population: 54,606), but it packs quite a punch with its excellent amenities and outdoor recreation, according to residents. And if you want more entertainment, Greensboro is just 22 miles away. Indeed, Burlington is considered a Greensboro suburb. Other communities within commuting distance of Burlington and Greensboro both include Gibsonville and Mebane.