Official Federal Data
Wake County, North Carolina
FIPS 37183 · Raleigh-Cary, NC · Population 1,178,653
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$105,768 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.2%
Unemployment
4% national
$128.4B ▲
GDP
57.2% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$105,768 ▲
Per Capita
$55,448 ▲
Mean Household
$139,586 ▲
Poverty Rate
8.1% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Wake County$105,768
North Carolina$72,388
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23%
18-34 · 23.5%
35-54 · 29%
55-64 · 11.5%
65+ · 12.9%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
94%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.4 pts
57.2%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +21.5 pts
23.4%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +9.3 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
1,178,653
Population
656,309
Labor Force
Employed
628,413
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.2%
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
29.1%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 21.5 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 82,584 workers (17% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $70,507.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $128.4B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Information averages $156,945 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $27,285, a 5.8x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
79,595
Cluster Employment
1.73x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
3.86x 14,792
Telecommunications
1.92x 4,874
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1.73x 79,595
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
1.55x 6,619
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.03x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
199 employed
0.08x
Crop Production
171 employed
0.13x
Primary Metal Manufacturing
204 employed
0.16x
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
465 employed
0.17x
Wood Product Manufacturing
284 employed
0.21x
Textile Mills
74 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Publishing Industries and Telecommunications concentrates at 3.86x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 4 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$461,300 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,623 ▲
Rent/Mo
64.1% ▲
Owner-Occ
7.2% ▼
Vacancy
4.4x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,524/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,596/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,750/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,196/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,936/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,644/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.4x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,644/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
755,554 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
29.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
84.9%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
57.2% ▲
HS Diploma+
94% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
47,592/yr
10,279/yr
9,997/yr
8,666/yr
6,984/yr
6,278/yr
5,388/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
18%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
58%
Service
11.6%
Sales & Office
17.9%
Construction / Maint.
5%
Production / Transport
7.5%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 628,413 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 28,942 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Wake County shows meaningful potential for publishing industries and telecommunications attraction, with a 3.86x concentration and 14,792 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across publishing industries and telecommunications, telecommunications, and professional, scientific, and technical services creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Wake County, North Carolina, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Wake County, North Carolina?
1,178,653 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Wake County, North Carolina?
$105,768 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Wake County, North Carolina?
3.2% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Wake County, North Carolina?
$128.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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