Over 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students live in campus housing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during a regular school year. Forty residence halls are grouped into 16 residential communities across campus.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the location of the first dormitory in the United States. Old East, built in 1795, is the university's oldest building and the nation's first university residence hall.

UNC–Chapel Hill's residence halls are typically referred to by their geographical location on campus: Northern, Middle, and Southern.

North Campus The northern part of campus, between Franklin Street and South Road, contains 20 residence halls in five communities.

Kenan Community

Spencer

Spencer residence hall, built in 1924, is located at the corner of Raleigh St. and Franklin St. Spencer is co-ed and hosts about 150 residents on four floors.

Spencer residence hall is named for Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825–1908), who moved to UNC-Chapel Hill with her family. Her father, James Phillips, was a mathematics professor. After she married and moved to Alabama with her husband, she moved back to Chapel Hill after his death. She wrote regular columns for The North Carolina Presbyterian and the Raleigh Sentinel. Spencer famously climbed South Building and rang the bell to celebrate the university's reopening after it had closed during Reconstruction. Spencer is buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery and has a collection in Wilson Library’s Southern Historical Collection.

Kenan

Kenan residence hall, built in 1939, is located on Battle Lane in the northeast corner of campus. Kenan is all-female and hosts about 120 residents on three floors.

Kenan is named after Mary Lily Kenan Flagler Bingham (1867–1917), the second wife of George Bingham Sr. and widow of Henry Flagler, both prominent benefactors of UNC. The Kenan-Flagler Business School is also named for Mary Kenan and Henry Flagler. In 1917, she donated $75,000 per year to pay competitive salaries to professors, a donation that helped the university move into the ranks of the nation's leading colleges. Like her brother, William Rand Kenan, Jr., she continued the family's association with the university, which dates back to the 1790s.

Alderman

Alderman residence hall, built in 1937, is located on Raleigh St. Alderman is co-ed and hosts about 100 residents on three floors.

Alderman residence hall is named after Edwin A. Alderman (1861–1931), a graduate of the class of 1882. Alderman was president of the university from 1896 to 1900 and was known for his reputation as a public education reformer. In 1890 he accepted the presidency of Tulane and completed his career as president of the University of Virginia.

McIver

McIver residence hall, built in 1939, is located on Raleigh St. McIver is co-ed and hosts about 100 residents on three floors. McIver residence hall includes the Living-Learning Community W.E.L.L. (Women's Experiences: Learning and Leadership) which incorporates leadership, involvement, women's issues, learning, citizenship and service.

McIver is named for Charles Duncan McIver (1860–1906), a UNC graduate of the class of 1881. McIver is the founder and first president of the State Normal and Industrial School for Girls, now known as UNC-Greensboro. McIver worked with Charles B. Aycock, James Y. Joyner, and Edwin Alderman to perform leading educational reforms. As a leading advocate for expanding education for women, he was a natural candidate to head the state's first public college for women, a position he held until his death in 1906.

Olde Campus Upper Quad Mangum

Mangum residence hall, built in 1922, is located on Raleigh St. Mangum is coed and hosts about 90 residents on four floors.

Mangum is named after Willie Person Mangum and his cousin Adolphus Williamson Mangum. Willie Mangum (1792–1861), an 1815 graduate of UNC, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1823 to 1826 and the Senate during 1831–1837 and 1844–1853. Willie Mangum also served as a university trustee from 1818 to 1859. His cousin Adolphus Williamson Mangum (1834–1890) became a Methodist minister and served as a chaplain in the Confederate Army and as a pastor at churches in Raleigh and Chapel Hill after the war. In 1875, he joined the faculty in the Department of Moral Philosophy, History, and English Literature, where he taught until his death in 1890.

Manly

Manly residence hall, built in 1922, is located on the corner of Raleigh St. and Cameron Ave. Manly is all-female and hosts about 90 residents on four floors. Manly is named after Charles Manly (1795–1871) and his brother, Matthias Manly (1801–1881). Charles graduated from UNC in 1814 and served as a trustee from 1821 to 1849 and 1850 to 1868, gaining a reputation as a supporter of public education and public works. Charles was also a lawyer, politician, slaveholder, and governor of North Carolina from 1849 to 1851. Matthias Manly, class of 1824, was a well-known judge in North Carolina and a trustee of the university from 1874 until 1881.

Ruffin

Ruffin residence hall, built in 1922, is located on Emerson Dr Ruffin is co-ed and hosts about 90 residents on four floors.

Since 2020, Ruffin has been named after Thomas Ruffin Jr. (1824–1889), a justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1881 to 1883.

Grimes

Grimes residence hall, built in 1922, is located on Emerson Dr. Grimes is co-ed and hosts about 90 residents on four floors.

Grimes was named after John Bryan Grimes (1868–1923), a planter, politician, trustee, and son of the Confederate major general Bryan Grimes. John Bryan Grimes came to UNC from 1882 to 1884 and then went back to his farm in Pitt County. He played a prominent role in agricultural organizations, including the Farmers' Alliance and the Grange. Grimes served as North Carolina Secretary of State from 1901 to 1923 and oversaw the collection and publication of historical documents and helped start the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association.

Old East

Old East residence hall, built in 1795, is located on Cameron Ave. Old East is co-ed and hosts about 70 residents on three floors.

Old East was declared a National Historic Landmark as the oldest state university building in America by the National Park Service in 1965. Its cornerstone was laid on October 12, 1793, by William Davie. The trustees chose its location and planned to make it the first section of a three-part structure. Rather than hire an architect, in the custom of the time they designed it themselves and relied on a local contractor to erect it. The trustees deliberately kept the structure austere to save money. In 1822, a third story was added. In 1844, architect Alexander J. Davis lengthened the building and on its north end attached a façade with windows and pilasters.

Old West

Old West residence hall, built in 1823, is located on Cameron Ave. Old West is co-ed and hosts about 70 residents on three floors.

William Nichols, one of the first trained architects to work in North Carolina, designed the Old West dormitory. It matched the university's first residence hall, Old East. Nichols added a story to Old East to make it the same height as Old West. In 1844, architect Alexander J. Davis lengthened the building and on its north end attached a façade with windows and pilasters.

Olde Campus Lower Quad

McClinton Residence Hall (Formerly Aycock Residence Hall)

McClinton Residence Hall, built in 1924, is located on the corner of Country Club Rd and Raleigh St. The building is all-female and hosts about 100 residents on three floors.

McClinton Residence Hall was formerly named after Charles Brantley Aycock (1859–1912) from the class of 1880. He was the superintendent of Jayne Couth schools and was an attorney. He became the governor of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905. Due to Aycock's ties with white supremacy, UNC renamed the building to Residence Hall One in 2020 before renaming it on honour of Hortense McClinton (born 1918), the campus's first African American faculty member.

Graham

Graham residence hall, built in 1924, is located on Country Club Rd. Graham is all-male and hosts about 90 residents on three floors. McClinton and Graham residence halls are connected by lounges and a breezeway.

Graham was named for John Washington Graham (1838–1928) of the class of 1857. He married Rebecca Cameron, the daughter of another prominent university supporter and North Carolina's largest slaveholder, Paul Cameron. In 1870–1871, he helped other Conservatives impeach and convict Republican governor W. W. Holden for using the militia to stop Ku Klux Klan violence. He served as a trustee of the university from 1876 until he died in 1928.

Stacy

Stacy residence hall,Stacy residence hall built in 1938, is located on Country Club Rd. Stacy is co-ed and hosts about 90 residents on three floors. Stacy has corridor-style hallways, two stairwells, a kitchen with an ice machine, a TV room, lounges, and vending machines. The building is equipped with smoke detectors, alarms, and central air-conditioning.

Stacy is named for Marvin Hendrix Stacy (1887–1919), a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate of the class of 1902. He also was a professor of mathematics, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, chairman of the faculty of the university, and president of the university for a year before his death from the influenza pandemic. He has a collection in Wilson Library's Southern Historical Collection.

Lewis

Lewis residence hall,Lewis residence hall built in 1924, is located on Raleigh St. Lewis is co-ed and hosts about 95 residents on three floors. Lewis has corridor-style hallways, a kitchen with an ice machine, a TV room, lounges, and vending machines. The building is equipped with smoke detectors, alarms, and central air-conditioning.

Lewis is named for Dr. Richard Henry Lewis (1850–1926). He came to UNC for two years before it closed during the Reconstruction period. He continued his education at the University of Virginia and received his M.D. from the University of Maryland. He opened an office in Raleigh in 1877 and was the secretary of the North Carolina State Board of Health from 1892 to 1909. In that office, he began regular examinations of public water supplies, a sanitary engineering service, and programs for protecting children from epidemics.

Everett

Everett residence hall,Everett residence hall built in 1928, is located on Raleigh Street. Everett is co-ed and hosts about 95 residents on three floors. Everett has corridor-style hallways, a kitchen with an ice machine, a TV room, lounges, and vending machines. The building is equipped with smoke detectors, alarms, and central air-conditioning.

Everett is named after William Nash Everett (1864–1928), a UNC graduate of the class of 1886. Everett served as Secretary of State in North Carolina from 1923 until 1928. He served in the Senate and House of Representatives in the 1920s and was a university trustee. He was a banker, farmer, and businessman as well as an endorser of woman suffrage and state aid for highways.

Connor Community Winston

Winston residence hall,Winston residence hall built in 1948, is located on South Rd. Winston is co-ed and hosts about 170 residents on four floors. Winston has corridor-style hallways, multiple stairwells, an elevator, a kitchen with an ice machine, a TV room, lounges, and vending machines. The building is equipped with smoke detectors, alarms, and central air-conditioning.

Winston is named after George Tayloe Winston (1852–1932), former UNC president (1891–1896). He taught Latin and German until he became president in 1891. Under his presidency, the number of students at UNC tripled. In 1896, he left UNC to become the president of the University of Texas, returning in 1899 to be the head of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, now called North Carolina State University.

Connor