Top 10 Companies in Orange County, NC
Hottest Places To Build a Career in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough

Wondering who the hottest employers in Orange County are? Here are highlights on each of the Top 10 companies in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough, by number of employees. We've included a little about what they do, and links directly to their employment page.
If you're considering relocating to Orange County NC, or just looking for a new career, here's a great place to get started!
1. UNC Hospitals
The University of North Carolina Hospitals at Chapel Hill have a well-earned reputation, and take special cases from throughout the state of North Carolina, and beyond. There are a total of 6 hospitals, including the NC Women's Hospital, NC Children's Hospital, and more. 5,827 employees at last count. Looking for a job? Click here.
2. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of NC
Named a 2007 Best Company for Working Mothers, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of North Carolina just celebrated their 75th anniversary. Some of the benefits? On site fitness centers, health club discounts, and much more. With 1,373 employees, there's also plenty of volunteers for the Blue Cross & Blue Shield company sponsored athletic events! Looking for a job? Click here.
3. Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter is a grocery store chain based in Mathews, NC. With over 140 stores, there are plenty to be found throughout the Triangle area, and more opening every day. Harris and Teeter were actually two separate grocers, who both started business in 1939. In 1960, they combined forces, and have steadily grown since then with innovative practices and a concerted community focus. A major distribution center is located in Orange County, along with a handful of full-size grocery stores, employing 522 residents. Looking for a job? Click here.
4. Sports Endeavors
Sports Endeavors is probably better known by any of its three major catalogs, or it's websites: Great Atlantic Lacrosse Company; Team Eurosport; KeeperSport; as well as the websites, SOCCER.COM and LACROSSE.COM. Sports Endeavors was founded in 1986, and is a great place to work for soccer fans: staffers gather after hours in the employee lounge to watch soccer and lacrosse matches! Sports Endeavors operates in an 8 building facility on 19 acres, and has 434 employees. Looking for a job? Click here.
5. Wal-Mart
I probably don't have to say much about Wal-Mart! Like everything else in the Triangle area, there have been plenty of new Wal-Mart shopping centers built over the past 5 years. Overall, there are 103 supercenters, 26 standard stores, and 22 Sam's Clubs in North Carolina, with 5 distribution centers to support all those savings. Walmart is the 5th largest employer in Orange County, with 426 employees. Looking for a job? Click here.
6. General Electric Corporation
If you remember, it was Thomas Edison who started the original Edison General Electric Company in 1890 - so this is a historical company! Today, GE employees 6,000 Veterans, not to mention their 316,000 total employees worldwide. GE owns four large businesses, including NBC (I didn't know that!). GE's Orange County facility employs 400, mainly for electrical distribution and manufacturing. Check out the opportunities for internships and MBA programs too. Looking for a job? Click here.
7. Aramark Services
Aramark has been ranked as a Most Admired Company by FORTUNE magazine in 2008. Aramark is headquartered in Philadelphia, and has 250,000 employees in 19 countries. Aramark serves 350,000,000 meals per year in US and Canadian schools - that's a lot of dishes to wash. In Orange County, the local Aramark has 380 employees and focuses on customized food service. Looking for a job? Click here.
8. PHE
OK, when I looked for top 10 companies, I did wonder what PHE Inc was. Turns out, this is a mail order company, and also the parent company of the "Adam and Eve" stores. Headquartered in Hillsborough, NC, PHE Inc does have 369 employees.
9. A Southern Season
A Southern Season is one of most popular shops in Chapel Hill, located in the University Mall shopping center near UNC Chapel Hill. A wonderful variety of gourmet food and cooking utensils and dishes can be found at a Southern Season. An extensive selection of wine and some of the best (and biggest) gift baskets have made a name for this shop - so big of a name, that it requires 341 employees to handle the 60,000 sq ft store and extensive online and mail order business. Looking for a job? Click here.
10. Magnolia Gardens Nursery Employs 300.
This list of the Top 10 Companies in Orange County, NC is just the beginning of companies employing great people in the Chapel Hill and Hillsborough area. So if you're looking to move to the area, or move up to the next step - take a look around. After all, Raleigh was just named the #1 Best Place for Business and Careers by FORBES in March of 2008!
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Great idea and interesting post. I was surprised to see some of the employers on your list.
The community of Chapel Hill is very focused on the University environment and it would seem that UNC, in addition to UNC Hospitals, would be on top of the list.