County profile

Wake County / Raleigh, NC

Reading this county

Wake County is Raleigh and the towns around it. In 1792 the state bought 1,000 acres here and laid Raleigh out from nothing to serve as its capital. A median home costs $501K against a $97K household income, and 37% of residents count as highly educated, a higher share than 98% of counties.

Educational Attainment: 37%: Highly educated residents make up 37% of the population, which puts the county in the top 2% of the country. Research Triangle Park lies partly inside this county. In June 2025 the county commissioners rezoned the Wake County part of the park so its corporate campuses can add housing and shops. >98% of 3,143 counties
Live Music: 67: 67 live music venues in the county, and only 17 counties have more. Raleigh's downtown amphitheatre is moving one block south so the convention centre beside it can expand. >99% of 3,143 counties
NHL Hockey: 0h 12m: Twelve minutes to the nearest NHL rink, and only 23 counties are closer. The arena at the end of that drive is publicly owned: the General Assembly created the Centennial Authority to hold it. <99% of 3,034 counties
Top School Rating: 96.3⁶: The best-rated public high school here scores 96.3, ahead of the top school in 94% of counties. It is one of 32 high schools in a single district, which also runs the schools in Cary, Apex, Garner, Wake Forest and Fuquay-Varina. >94% of 3,028 counties
The trade-off — Median Home Price: $501K⁴: A $501K median home price, higher than 94% of counties, against a $97K median household income. The county taxes that house on the value it assigned as of 1 January 2024, not on what the house would fetch today. >94% of 3,143 counties

Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of April 1, 2020, the population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most populous county as well as the most populous county in the Carolinas.

Demographics and county data

Each comparison is against the US counties that publish the same measurement. Measurements where too many counties share a single value to be ranked show no comparison at all.

Abortion Regulation: Legal (Restricted)
ACT/SAT Scores: #5
Air Quality: 10.1¹
Alcohol Regulation: #11
All Occupations: $89K¹
American Indians/Alaskan Natives: ↓-1.6%
Amish, Mennonites, etc: ↓-2.1%⁷
Any Airport: 0h 21m
Any Natural Disaster: Low³
Architecture & Engineering: $85K¹⁰
Art Museums: 5
Arts, Design, Sports, Media & Entertainment: $67K¹⁰
Asian Americans: ↑5.9%
Asian Language Speakers: ↑2.7%
Avalanche: none³
Average School Rating: 60.7⁶
Beergardens & Brewpubs: 12
Bike Score: 39
Blacks/African Americans: ↑10.8%
Boating: 41
Broadband Internet: 91%
Buddhists: ↑0.6%⁷
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance: $32K¹⁰
Business & Financial Operations: $83K¹⁰
Cannabis Regulation: Illegal
Cat Friendly Rentals: 59%
Catholics: ↓-3.0%⁷
City Population: 468K
Climate Change Risk: 2.8
Coastal Flooding: none³
Cold Wave: none³
Community & Social Service: $52K¹⁰
Commute Time: 26
Computer & Mathematical: $105K¹⁰
Construction & Extraction: $48K¹⁰
County Population: 1.15M
Cuisine Diversity: 40
Cycling: 14
Dentists: 7.2
Dog Friendly Rentals: 78%
Drought: Low³
Earthquakes: Very Low³
Education, Training, & Library: $53K¹⁰
Educational Attainment: 37%
Elevation: 318'⁸
English Speakers: ↓-2.2%
Farmers Markets: 13
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry: $38K¹⁰
Fatal Dog Attacks: 1
Fatal Wildlife Attacks: 0
Fire Ants: Fire Ants!
Fishing: 58
Food Preparation & Serving Related: $28K¹⁰
Forests: 29%
Freshwater Access: 99
Gluten-Free Options: 8
Golf: 38
Gun Open Carry Regulation: Legal (Unrestricted)
Hail: Medium³
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical: $87K¹⁰
Healthcare Support: $33K¹⁰
Heat Wave: Very Low³
High School Graduation Rate: 88%¹
Hiking: 161
Hindus: ↑0.6%⁷
Hispanics/Latinos: ↑0.6%
History Museums: 6
Home Ownership Rate: 64%
Homelessness: 81
Homicide Rate: 3¹
Hospitals: 4
Hurricanes: Low³
Ice Storms: Medium³
Indo-European Language Speakers: ↑2.4%
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair: $52K¹⁰
Investment Potential: 62 / 100
Jehovah's Witnesses: ↓-0.6%⁷
Jews: ↑0.2%⁷
Landslide: Very Low³
LDS / Mormons: ↓-1.3%⁷
Legal: $103K¹⁰
Life Expectancy: 82¹
Life, Physical, & Social Science: $74K¹⁰
Lightning: Medium³
Live Music: 67
Major Airport: 0h 21m
Major City Proximity: Major City
Major League Baseball: 4h 46m
Major League Soccer: 2h 55m
Management: $127K¹⁰
Median Age: 36 years¹¹
Median Home Price: $501K
Median Rental - 1 BR Apartment: $818
Median Rental - 2 BR Apartment: $1,073
Median Rental - 3 BR Apartment: $1,312
Median Rental - 4 BR Apartment: $1,457
Median Rental - Room: $985
Median Rental - Single Family Home: $2,342⁴
Median Rental - Studio Apartment: $813
Mental Health Providers: 31.3
Meth Labs: 24
Michelin Rated Restaurants: none
Minor League Baseball: 0h 30m
Mountains: 620'⁸
Multiracials: ↑0.4%
Muslims: ↑0.9%⁷
National Parks: 3h 57m
Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders: ↓-0.1%
NBA Basketball: 2h 55m
NFL Football: 2h 55m
NHL Hockey: 0h 12m
Not Religious / Atheists / Agnostics: ↑5.0%
Nuclear Strike: Direct Target
Obesity Rate: 28%¹
Office & Administrative Support: $42K¹⁰
Orthodox Christians: ↓-0.2%⁷
Other Language Speakers: ↑0.7%
Other Relocation Incentives: none
Park Score: 48%⁹
People 0-9 Years Old: ↑1.1%
People 10-19 Years Old: ↑1.1%
People 20-29 Years Old: ↑1.5%
People 30-39 Years Old: ↑3.3%
People 40-49 Years Old: ↑3.2%
People 50-59 Years Old: ↓-0.7%
People 60-69 Years Old: ↓-4.0%
People 70-79 Years Old: ↓-3.3%
People 80+ Years Old: ↓-2.2%
Performing Arts: 1
Personal Care & Service: $33K¹⁰
Political Orientation: 60% Dems
Population Density: 1,353
Population Growth: ↑1.5%
Poverty Rate: 7.4%
Primary Care Physicians: 8.5¹
Private/Home School Regulation: #45
Production: $41K¹⁰
Property Crime Rate: 1,783
Property Tax: 0.84%
Protective Service: $43K¹⁰
Protestants / Non-Denominationals: ↓-2.5%⁷
Rain: 46"
Regional Theatre: 1
River Flooding: Medium³
Sales & Related: $48K¹⁰
Sales Tax: 7.3%
Same Sex Households: ↑0.1%
Scenic Beauty: #12
Seacoast Proximity: 2h 35m
Seasons: 38 °F
Shark Attacks: 0
Single Parent Households: ↓-3.6%
Skiing: 3h 50m
Small or Major Airport: 0h 21m
Smokers: 14%¹
Snow: 4"
Spanish Speakers: ↑1.7%
State Income Tax: 5.3%
Strong Wind: Low³
Summer Heat: 89 °F
Summer Mugginess: Icky
Sunny Days: 213
Termite Infestation: Heavy
Tobacco Regulation: #46
Top School Rating: 96.3
Tornadoes: Medium³
Traffic: 562K
Transit Score: 29
Transportation & Material Moving: $39K¹⁰
Tsunami: none³
Typical Expenses: $69K⁵
Typical Expenses: $97K⁵
Typical Expenses: $53K⁵
Typical Expenses: $139K⁵
Typical Expenses: $140K⁵
Typical Expenses: $69K⁵
Typical Expenses: $121K⁵
Typical Expenses: $91K⁵
Typical Expenses: $89K⁵
Typical Expenses: $81K⁵
Typical Expenses: $111K⁵
Typical Expenses: $99K⁵
Unemployment Rate: 6.4%¹
Vegetarian Friendliness: 23
Violent Crime Rate: 115²
Volcanic Activity: none³
Walk Score: 31
Water Quality: 3/4
Whites: ↓-16.5%
Wildfires: Very Low³
Windiness: 18 mph
Wineries: 6
Winter Cold: 51 °F
Winter Weather: High³

Cities

Angier, Apex, Auburn, Banks, Barham, Bayleaf, Bonsal, Carpenter, Cary, Clayton, Clegg, Cloverdale, Colonial Heights, Durham, Eagle Rock, East Parkland, Echo Heights, Emerald Village, Falls, Feltonville, Forestville, Fowlers Crossroads, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Glen Forest, Glenwood Village, Green Acres, Greenbrier Estates, Holland, Hollemans Crossroads, Holly Springs, Hopkins, Juniper, Kennebec, Knightdale, Lassiter, Leesville, Lizard Lick, Macks Village, McCullers, McCullers Crossroads, Medfield, Milburnie, Millbrook, Morrisville, Neuse, Neuse Crossroads, New Hill, New Light, Pet Crossroads, Pine Hurst Park, Piney Plains, Purnell, Raleigh, Rangewood, Rhamkatte, Riley Hill, Rolesville, Sandy Plain, Shotwell, Six Forks Crossroads, Stony Hill, Tysonville, Upchurch, Wake Crossroads, Wake Forest, Walkers Crossroads, Wendell, West Parkland, Wilbon, Wilders Grove, Williams Crossroads, Zebulon