Raleigh, North Carolina had 506,306 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #39 nationally and #2 in North Carolina. cost of living runs 2.4% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $99,019/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID3755000
Last build2026-05-29
At a glance.
2025 population
506,306
Census Vintage 2025
Median HH income
$85,395
+9.9% vs US $77,719
Median home value
$415,800
+37.0% vs US $303,400
Avg July high
90°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
69%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Unemployment
3.2%
Raleigh · BLS LAUS
Key statistics.
2025 population
506,306
Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025
2020 base
468,102
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+38,204
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+8.2%
Within V2025 only
1-yr change
+7,289
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+1.5%
Within V2025 only
Density
3,325
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
152.3
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#39
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#2
of 549 in North Carolina
Population history.
Population grew 8.2% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 468,102 → 2025: 506,306 (+8.2%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
468,102
April 1, 2020
2020
466,310
July 1, 2020
2021
471,981
July 1, 2021
2022
475,226
July 1, 2022
2023
490,503
July 1, 2023
2024
499,017
July 1, 2024
2025
506,306
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 17.3% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 404,068 → 2019: 474,069 (+16.7%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
404,068
April 1, 2010
2010
406,353
July 1, 2010
2011
413,958
July 1, 2011
2012
423,304
July 1, 2012
2013
431,391
July 1, 2013
2014
439,503
July 1, 2014
2015
449,546
July 1, 2015
2016
459,469
July 1, 2016
2017
465,776
July 1, 2017
2018
469,314
July 1, 2018
2019
474,069
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Raleigh?
Median household income is 10% above the U.S. median ($85,395 vs $77,719); 11.9% live in poverty — 0.6 points below the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Raleigh from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
85,395+9.9% vs US
±2,159
Per capita income
52,897+22.2% vs US
±1,028
Population in poverty
11.9%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 37% above the U.S. median ($415,800 vs $303,400); median rent is 17% above ($1,572 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 4.9×, making it 1.2× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Raleigh. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
3.2%
Raleigh (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
286,576
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
25.8%+84.5% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Raleigh spans 2 counties; all are listed (no weighted average):
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Durham County
11.3%
$84,375
3.2%
Wake County
8.6%
$107,083
3.1%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Raleigh's linked 2 counties in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
118,380
$1,393 / wk
#2
Professional and technical services (54)
111,283
$2,418 / wk
#3
Retail trade (44-45)
78,812
$805 / wk
#4
Accommodation and food services (72)
73,680
$519 / wk
#5
Administrative and waste services (56)
62,471
$1,130 / wk
What workers earn in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
5,390
$45,500
$21.88
Customer Service Representatives
5,230
$46,260
$22.24
Cashiers
5,150
$29,070
$13.98
Fast Food and Counter Workers
4,980
$29,580
$14.22
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
4,980
$36,450
$17.53
Cooks, Fast Food
4,440
$28,760
$13.83
Nursing Assistants
4,410
$38,710
$18.61
Registered Nurses · benchmark
13,600
—
—
Software Developers · benchmark
8,610
$131,980
$63.45
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
5,630
$31,220
$15.01
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
4,380
$120,240
$57.81
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
2,540
$50,970
—
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
2,160
$52,100
$25.05
This city spans multiple metros; OEWS data shown is for Durham-Chapel Hill, NC, the metro of the city's primary county.
All items run 2.4% below the U.S. average (RPP 97.6); utilities run 10.7% below (RPP 89.3) — the metro's utility affordability is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 97.6
−2.4% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,711/mo
FY2026 · Durham-Chapel Hill, NC HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
4.25%
flat · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$8,252/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$5,084/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in North Carolina · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
13.8% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (9.9% of residents 5+).
Where Raleigh's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
13.8%-1.2% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
81.1%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish9.9%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
Public school districts serving Raleigh, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts, and one district often serves multiple cities. Sorted primary district first. See methodology §12 for the consolidated-city fallback and Milford CT special case.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What's the climate like in Raleigh?
Hottest month: July (90°F avg high). Coldest: January (31°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 48.3 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Raleigh from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk spans 89.6–95.5/100 across 2 counties; most-cited top hazard is Heat Wave (in 1 of 2).
Natural-hazard exposure for Raleigh from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
Raleigh spans 2 counties. We list each separately because hurricane, flood, and fire risk varies meaningfully across county lines — manufacturing a single “city-level” risk score would hide that signal.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
16 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 69% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Raleigh from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
16 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
14
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
69.6%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
68.6%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
240,624
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Raleigh sits at state rank #2 among 549 cities in North Carolina. Nearby in the state ranking:
Raleigh-Durham International Airport(RDU) ·
9 mi 14 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Apr, Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Raleigh is 3755000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
