Rural charm meets suburban growth in Whitsett
Whitsett is a longtime farming community in a peaceful patch of countryside between Greensboro and Burlington. The small Guilford County town is home to about 600 people, many of whom enjoy growing their own food and raising livestock. The community was once more secluded, but Whitsett today is hugged by growing subdivisions, as new home development booms between the Piedmont Triad and the Research Triangle regions. “Greensboro is expanding east,” says Amy Sears , a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Durham. “Whitsett and other areas of Guilford County are really beginning to show a promise of growth as it expands.” While the town offers a slower pace of life, popular shopping centers and parks are only a few miles away. Highway access offers commuters connectivity to nearby cities. Downtown Greensboro is about 15 miles away.
Historic and ranch-style homes about 15 miles from Greensboro
Whitsett’s single-family homes rest along country roads in between pastures and woods. Ranch-style homes are most common, but state Route 61 and Whitsett Park Road feature a collection of historic homes from the early 1900s with Colonial Revival, Queen Anne and farmhouse-inspired architecture. Properties typically feature spacious lots that often exceed an acre. Living space is also ample, averaging around 2,300 square feet, which is larger than the national average. The median price for a single-family home here is around $380,000, slightly below the national median. Prices range from around $200,000 to $375,000.
According to FEMA’s National Risk Index, Guilford County has a moderate risk of hurricanes, landslides, drought and tornadoes. Snowfall and ice storms are possible in the winter.
Burlington offers malls and grocery stores
Whitsett is primarily residential, so residents typically drive to Burlington to shop and dine out. Alamance Crossing is less than 5 miles away. The sprawling outdoor mall features dozens of high-end boutiques, name-brand and department stores, as well as chain restaurants and a movie theater. Nearby, Target and other familiar national retailers fill University Commons. Burlington also has several grocery chains, including Food Lion, Lidl and Publix. Area food trucks line up at Red Oak Lager Haus & Biergarten, the self-proclaimed largest lager-only craft brewery in America, which sits south of Whitsett off Interstate 40.
Nearby parks include Guilford-Mackintosh Park and Marina
Next to the Whitsett Town Hall is a public green space that features a newly upgraded playground and picnic area, as well as a baseball field and walking track. Several Burlington and Guilford County parks are a few miles from town, including Burlington Springwood Park, which features four fields and a concession stand for baseball and softball tournaments. The nearly 1,500-acre Guilford-Mackintosh Park and Marina offers outdoor adventures from boating and fishing on Lake Mackintosh to hiking and mountain biking. Nearby, Stoney Creek Golf Club features an 18-hole Tom Jackson-designed golf course that’s open to the public.
Guilford County Schools offer school choice
Guilford County Schools earns a B-plus overall rating from Niche. The district has about 68,000 students across 121 schools. Students can attend their assigned neighborhood school or apply to a magnet school or specialty program. Many homes in Whitsett are zoned for the B-plus-rated Gibsonville Elementary, the C-plus-rated Eastern Guilford Middle and the C-plus-rated Eastern Guilford High. A renovation project sponsored by the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation in 2023 updated the high school’s weight room and athletic training facilities.
Several private schools dot the region, including The Burlington School, which receives an A-minus rating. The private Elon University, ranked No. 1 on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Undergraduate Teaching list for 2025, is about 5 miles away.
Whitsett’s traditions include a fall festival and a town cookbook
Whitsett’s small-town spirit shines at annual events such as the Whitsett Harvest Festival. Held on a Saturday in early October, the event celebrates the fall season with live music, local craft vendors, food and games at the Whitsett Town Hall and Ballfield.
The town is in the process of collecting beloved family recipes for a new edition of “From the Kitchens of Whitsett.” The cookbook, originally released in 1992, features a range of dishes by longtime residents, from homemade dips and casseroles to cakes, pies and pickles.
Commuters have access to U.S. Route 70 and Interstate 40
Residents need a private vehicle to get around Whitsett, as there’s no public transportation. Two highways, U.S. Route 70 and Interstate 40, cross through the town, connecting commuters to the Piedmont Triad of Greensboro , Winston-Salem and High Point to the west and the Research Triangle region of Durham , Chapel Hill and Raleigh to the east. Greensboro is about 15 miles away, while Raleigh is around 65 miles away. Both cities have airports offering commercial flights. Burlington offers the closest full-service hospital, Cone Health Alamance Regional Medical Center, which is about 6 miles from Whitsett.
