county

Wake County, NC

Demographic and economic profile of Wake County, NC, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Wake County's 1.23 million residents make it one of North Carolina's largest labor markets, with 56.3% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and a labor force participation rate of 69.9%. GDP per capita of $81,750 runs well above median worker earnings of $54,712, and a poverty rate of just 7.9% reflects a broadly employed workforce. The county added population at a 10.0% rate over five years, while median home values of $422,800 and median gross rent of $1,508/month indicate housing costs that have risen alongside that growth.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

1,232,444

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$105,768

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

37.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+10.0% since 2018

Wake County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone682,049 (57.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone221,415 (18.8%)
  • Asian Alone100,766 (8.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race64,495 (5.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone58,604 (5.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races48,037 (4.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish92,171
  2. 2.Other Indo-European32,573
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island21,592
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)10,932
  5. 5.Arabic8,334

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

64.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

12.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

15.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

51,127

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$81,750

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$52,949

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services140,053
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance130,272
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)57,512
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)56,324
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing52,059

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations364,259
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations112,647
  3. 3.Service Occupations72,936
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations47,382
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations31,189

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.79×)134,899
  2. 2.Information (LQ 1.42×)16,259
  3. 3.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.26×)51,270
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 0.92×)13,036
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 0.92×)26,609

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$422,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,508/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

64.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,99976,820 (26.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,99955,253 (18.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99954,702 (18.5%)
  • $750,000 to $999,99932,234 (10.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99919,560 (6.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,99916,643 (5.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

56.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

69.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$54,712

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone380,153 (61.4%)
  • Worked At Home179,878 (29.1%)
  • Carpooled36,590 (5.9%)
  • Walked7,550 (1.2%)
  • Other7,171 (1.2%)
  • Public Transit4,074 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.