Graham is located at . It is bordered to the north and the west by the city of Burlington and to the northeast by the town of Haw River. The Haw River runs along the east edge of Graham, and the city extends south as far as Alamance Creek. Interstate 85 runs through the city, leading east to Durham and west to Greensboro. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.67%, is water.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Graham has a Humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Education
The local school system is known as the Alamance-Burlington School System, which was created by a merger between the Alamance County School System and the Burlington City School System in 1996. Local public schools in Graham include:
At the 2000 census there were 12,833 people, 5,241 households, and 3,385 families living in the city. The population density was 1,579.3 people per square mile. There were 5,685 housing units at an average density of 699.6 per square mile. The racial composition of the city was: 72.88% White, 21.64% Black or African American, 10.14% Hispanic or Latino American, 0.73% Asian American, 0.44% Native American, 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 3.19% some other race, and 1.12% two or more races. Of the 5,241 households 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 30.1% of households were one person and 11.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91. The age distribution was 24.0% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males. The median household income was $35,706 and the median family income was $40,769. Males had a median income of $27,844 versus $22,163 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,865. About 11.9% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.
