Live in College Hill
Greensboro's first local historic district, between Greensboro College and UNCG, where 1,620 of the 2,581 residents need a certificate before the outside of a house changes.
College Hill is the area the City of Greensboro's own neighborhood map draws south of West Market Street beside UNCG: 2,581 residents in 990 housing units on 146 acres at the 2020 census, with part of the Greensboro College campus inside the line. It was settled in the 1840s and 1850s by people connected with the Methodist women's college that became Greensboro College, took its present name after the school that is now UNCG was established beside it in 1891, and in 1980 became the City's first local historic district, which holds 1,620 of the residents. Inside that district exterior work needs a certificate of appropriateness, and the County's rate table adds a 1-cent College Hill Historic District levy to the 158.80 cents per $100 every City parcel pays for fiscal 2027. It is also a student neighborhood: the census tract that holds every resident counts 86.6% of its people aged three and over in college or graduate school, a figure for a tract larger than the guide, not for these blocks.
A college neighborhood that the City reviews house by house
An area the City of Greensboro's own neighborhood map draws: feature 15, College Hill, on the hosted 'neighborhood' layer the City's ArcGIS Online organization publishes for its Neighborhood Traffic Management Program maps, marked VERIFIED NO, on a map whose companion point layer says its lines are estimated and 'should not be considered accurate'. It lies wholly inside the current City limits, 146 acres. It is not an association's territory, a plat or the historic district. Traced against the City's street centerlines, West Market Street is the northern edge for about 570 m, McIver Street runs along the west, South Tate Street and Oakland Avenue along parts of the south and South Spring Street on the east; South Mendenhall Street, Spring Garden Street, South Tate Street, Walker Avenue and Fulton Street run through it. The City's College Hill local historic district holds 1,620 of the 2,581 residents and the 1993 National Register district 945; the College Hill neighborhood plan and an inactive College Hill redevelopment area cover all of them.
College Hill, in this guide, is an area the City of Greensboro's own neighborhood map draws: feature 15 on a layer the City publishes for its Neighborhood Traffic Management Program maps, marked unverified, on a map whose companion point layer says its lines are estimated and should not be considered accurate. It is not an association's territory, a plat or the historic district. The line runs south of West Market Street between McIver Street and South Spring Street, and in 2020 it held 2,581 residents in 990 housing units on 146 acres, with part of the Greensboro College campus inside it and UNCG's campus line 0.3 km from the reference point.
It grew up around a college, and then a second one. A charter for the Methodist women's college that became Greensboro College was secured in 1838, and the school opened to students in 1846. The people who built houses around it in the 1840s and 1850s were connected with it, and the neighborhood was called Piety Hill. In 1891 the legislature established the State Normal and Industrial School next door, today's UNCG, and Piety Hill became College Hill. Most of the present houses went up between the 1890s and the 1930s, in Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles.
The historic district is the thing a buyer is choosing. In 1980 College Hill became Greensboro's first local historic district, a zoning overlay, and on the City's layer it holds 1,620 of the 2,581 residents. Inside it a certificate of appropriateness is needed before exterior work begins; the neighborhood association says smaller projects are approved by staff and larger ones go to the City's Historic Preservation Commission. The City's own pages refused this site's requests, so what the commission requires and how long it takes were not read: ask the City's historic preservation staff before you offer. The 1993 National Register district, 320 contributing buildings, holds 945 of the residents on a slightly different line. That listing restricts nothing a private owner does with private money.
It is a student neighborhood, and the census shows it only from a distance. No census table gives students by block. The blocks show 2.61 residents per housing unit, against 1.66 in Fisher Park, north of downtown; 335 residents inside OpenStreetMap's outline of the Greensboro College campus, 236 of them on one block of two housing units, which is what campus housing looks like in a census; and 108 on UNCG's land. The census tract that holds every resident, 107.02, counted 86.6% of its people aged three and over in college or graduate school on the 2020 to 2024 survey, 5,826 undergraduates with a margin of 338. That is the tract's share, and the tract is larger than the guide; nobody publishes the share for these streets.
The tax bill carries one extra cent. Every City parcel pays Guilford County 78.95 cents per $100 and the City 79.85 for fiscal 2027, 158.80 in all, and the County's rate table adds a College Hill Historic District levy of 1 cent, 159.80 in all; the County's line for it was not compared with the City's district, so check the bill. Both rates are charged on the 2022 revaluation's values, because Senate Bill 889 put the County's 2026 values off to the 2027 bills, so a buyer's first bill follows the seller's assessment and the next one will not. North Carolina gives an ordinary buyer no homestead exemption; its relief programs are for owners who are 65, disabled or disabled veterans, applied for by 1 June. Stormwater and garbage come on the City's water bill, and this site could read those charges only secondhand. Whether the 34 residents in the downtown character area pay the Downtown Improvement District's 9 cents was not found. Zillow's typical value for the 27403 ZIP was $237,287 in August 2026, a ZIP figure, not this neighborhood's.
- Check whether the parcel is in the local historic district: 1,620 of the 2,581 residents are, and the National Register line is different
- Ask the City's historic preservation staff what your project needs before you price it
- Read the seller's tax bill for the 1-cent College Hill levy, and expect the 2027 bill to move to the 2026 values
- Ask for the seller's last water bill: stormwater and garbage are on it, not on the tax bill
- Expect neighbors on a student calendar: the tract counts 86.6% of residents three and over in college
- Run the address through Guilford County Schools' locator, and ask where Lindley Elementary is meeting
How College Hill got here
- 1837The oldest land in the guide is inside the town by this year on the City's annexation layer: 368 of the 2020 residents live on it. The College Hill Neighborhood Association dates the district's period of significance from 1837.
- 1838Through the Methodist Church, a charter is secured for the women's college that becomes Greensboro College, one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States.
- 1846The college opens to students; the cornerstone of its first building was laid in 1843. The houses that go up around it in the 1840s and 1850s belong to people connected with it, and its Methodist ties earn the area the name Piety Hill.
- 1891The legislature establishes the State Normal and Industrial School, today's UNCG, which opens beside Piety Hill in 1892 under Charles Duncan McIver; the neighborhood becomes College Hill. Land holding 2,079 of the 2020 residents comes into the city the same year.
- 1890sFrom the 1890s to the 1930s most of the present houses are built, largely Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman.
- 1923The last of the guide's land, holding 134 of the 2020 residents, comes into the city, on the City's annexation layer.
- 1954Greensboro College becomes coeducational. UNCG takes its present name in 1963, the year it first admits men.
- 1980College Hill becomes Greensboro's first local historic district, a zoning overlay under which exterior work needs a certificate of appropriateness.
- 1993The College Hill Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places: 320 contributing buildings and one site between West Market Street and the railroad. Its line differs from the City's district.
- 2026Senate Bill 889, signed on 19 June, keeps the 2026 bills on the 2025 values. The County and the City raise their rates to 158.80 cents per $100 between them, and the College Hill Historic District adds 1 cent. On 10 June new FEMA flood panels take effect.
Springdale Park, the campus lawns and downtown
The one named park inside the line on OpenStreetMap is Springdale Park, 0.25 km from the reference point and tagged as the City's; what is in it was not read. The Downtown Greenway passes east of the line, and Center City Park and LeBauer Park are about 1.3 and 1.4 km away in a straight line, where the Festival of Lights opens each December.
What the map does not show: the campus lawns are the colleges', not the City's. The City's flood layer puts 0.66% of the area in a special flood hazard area and no 2020 resident on a block in it; the reference point is in zone X on a panel effective 10 June 2026.
25 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 25 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are computed from the population-weighted center of College Hill's 2020 census blocks, using straight-line distance multiplied by a road factor and a tiered speed model: honest ranges, not routed times.
Every gym within reach
The nearest full gym is the Kathleen Price Bryan Family YMCA on West Market Street, east of the line, with an indoor pool and track. The City's nearest recreation center and outdoor pool are at Warnersville, south of Gate City Boulevard.
- Kathleen Price Bryan Family YMCA, 501 West Market Street: pool, track and gym
- Warnersville Recreation Center and pool, 601 Doak Street: call for hours
- Greensboro Aquatic Center, 1921 West Gate City Boulevard: the City's indoor pool
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Kathleen Price Bryan Family YMCA open | 501 West Market Street, east of the line: an indoor pool, an indoor track, a gymnasium, a cycling studio, group classes and a wellness center. Membership prices were not read. | 3–4 min |
| Warnersville Recreation Center open | The City's recreation center and outdoor pool at 601 Doak Street, south of Gate City Boulevard. The City's layer says to call for hours; the pool season was not read. | 4–6 min |
| Xperience @ Caldcleugh open | 1700 Orchard Street, on the City's list of recreation centers; its programs and hours were not read. | 6–8 min |
| Greensboro Aquatic Center open | The City's indoor pool at 1921 West Gate City Boulevard; hours and fees were not read. | 6–9 min |
| Lindley Recreation Center open | 2907 Springwood Drive, beside the City's outdoor Lindley Pool in Lindley Park. | 8–11 min |
The free option is the Downtown Greenway, east of the line.
One zone at each level, and the elementary is meeting elsewhere
Guilford County Schools assigns by the parent's address. On its 2026-27 layers the point, and every 2020 resident, is zoned for Lindley Elementary (C for 2024-25 and 2023-24), which the district lists as meeting at Murphey Elementary on Ontario Street, Kiser Middle (C) and Grimsley High (B). Greensboro College Middle College, inside the line, is a choice school.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Lindley Elementary School | Guilford County Schools | The point is zoned for Lindley Elementary on the district's 2026-27 layer, and so are all 2,581 residents of 2020. The district's site layer says the school is meeting at Murphey Elementary, 2306 Ontario Street, rather than in its own building at 2700 Camden Road, and the County lists Lindley among its school construction projects under way: ask where it will meet in your child's year. NC DPI graded it C for 2024-25 and 2023-24 (score 69, growth met). DPI says 2025-26 grades exist, but no school-level file for them was found. |
| Kiser Middle School | Guilford County Schools | The point is zoned for Kiser Middle, 407 Campus Drive, and so are all 2,581 residents of 2020. The County lists Kiser among the schools built with the school bonds voters approved. C for 2024-25 and 2023-24 (score 57, growth not met). |
| Grimsley High School | Guilford County Schools | The point is zoned for Grimsley High, 801 North Josephine Boyd Street, 1.86 km in a straight line, and so are all 2,581 residents of 2020. B for 2024-25 and 2023-24 (score 76, growth exceeded). |
| Greensboro College Middle College | Guilford County Schools | A district early or middle college at 815 West Market Street, on the Greensboro College campus inside the line, for grades 11 and 12, graded A for 2024-25 and 2023-24. It is a choice school applied to separately: living beside it zones no one for it. The magnet elementaries nearest the point are Jones Spanish Immersion, 1.44 km, and Erwin Montessori, 2.17 km, both by application and mostly by lottery. |
Run the exact address through the district's School Assignment Locator. The grades here are NC DPI's for 2024-25 and 2023-24; DPI says 2025-26 grades exist, but no school-level file for them was found. Magnet and choice programs, including Jones Spanish Immersion and Erwin Montessori nearby, are applied for separately and mostly filled by lottery.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Highs average 9.6 °C and lows -1.1 °C at Piedmont Triad International Airport on the 1991 to 2020 normals, with 19.5 nights at or below freezing
- 7.4 cm of snow on the normal, the most of any month: watch for ice on porch steps and brick walks
- With the canopy bare, the rooflines and porches the district's certificates cover are easiest to judge
- Highs 11.8 °C, 15.1 freezing nights and 5.1 cm of snow on the normal
- Plan spring exterior work now: inside the local district a certificate of appropriateness comes before the contractor
- 71 mm of rain, the driest month on the normal
- Highs 16.3 °C, 94 mm of rain and 8 freezing nights on the normal
- Paint and porch work starts inside the district, under the City's review
- Freezing nights fall to 8 on the normal, and to 1.1 in April
- Highs 21.7 °C and the last of the frost, 1.1 nights on the normal
- The Greensboro Farmers Curb Market adds its Tuesday evening market, 4 to 7 p.m., from April to October
- 15 April marks the 2018 EF2 tornado that touched down in east Greensboro and ran 33.6 miles north; its track was not mapped against this guide
- Highs 25.6 °C and 89 mm of rain; the first day at or above 32 °C, 1.1 of them on the normal
- Applications for North Carolina's property tax relief programs for older, disabled and veteran owners are due by 1 June
- FEMA's new statewide panels took effect on 10 June 2026; the reference point is in zone X, and no 2020 resident lived on a block in a special flood hazard area
- Highs 29.6 °C, 104 mm of rain and 6.6 days at or above 32 °C
- The County and the City adopt the next year's rates in June
- The hottest month: highs 31.4 °C and 13.7 days at or above 32 °C
- Fun Fourth on 4 July: the Freedom Run from 7:30 a.m., then Freedom Fest along Elm Street from 1 to 6 p.m.
- The fiscal year and the new tax rates start on 1 July
- Guilford County expected to mail the 2026 bills by 15 August, later than its usual July because of the moratorium
- Pay by 31 August for the 1% early payment discount
- Highs 30.3 °C and 111 mm of rain
- The wettest month on the normal, 117 mm
- The free North Carolina Folk Festival fills downtown for three days; 2026's ran 18 to 20 September and 2027's dates are not posted
- Highs 26.9 °C
- N.C. A&T's homecoming runs 25 October to 1 November 2026, with the game on 31 October at Truist Stadium
- Highs 21.7 °C and 79 mm of rain
- The first frost of the season is possible, 0.5 nights on the normal
- Highs 15.9 °C and 7.7 freezing nights on the normal
- The canopy drops over the district: clear gutters before the freezes
- The Curb Market's Tuesday evenings have ended for the year; Saturdays run all winter
- Downtown Greensboro Inc.'s Festival of Lights, a Friday in early December, lights the tree in Center City Park; the 2026 date was not posted
- Highs 11.1 °C, 16.6 freezing nights and 3.0 cm of snow on the normal
- Values stay at the 2022 revaluation's until the 2027 bills, the first on the 2026 values
Every photograph in this guide's library is above
This library holds 6 photographs and the page has already printed all of them, each once. The credits are in the footer.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near College Hill, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. Inline photos elsewhere on the page may still come from the site's shared Greensboro library.