The lynching of Wyatt Outlaw, the first African-American Town Commissioner and Constable of Graham, on February 26, 1870, by the Ku Klux Klan, along with the assassination of State Senator John W. Stephens at the Caswell County Courthouse, provoked Governor William Woods Holden to declare martial law in Alamance and Caswell Counties, resulting in the Kirk-Holden War of 1870.

[9][10] Graham 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.

[11] The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,157 people, 6,412 households, and 3,962 families residing in the city.