Sunbury is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Gates County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 289. Sunbury is located at the junction of U.S. Route 158 and North Carolina Highway 32, 10 miles east-northeast of Gatesville, the Gates County seat. Sunbury has a post office with ZIP code 27979. Sunbury High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.