AreaProfile

Holly Springs, North Carolina

Area Profile

45,248 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Holly Springs, in Wake County.

79
Area Score
Top 2% of 1,482 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
schoolsTop 18% of 2,668 published cities77
OpportunityTop 1% of 3,904 published cities92
GrowthTop 22% of 2,973 published cities66
Housing affordabilityTop 33% of 4,223 published cities89
ClimateTop 43% of 4,223 published cities72
Physical resilienceTop 41% of 4,182 published cities67
Access1023rd of 1,876 published cities93
Economic stabilityTop 7% of 4,226 published cities80
The quick read

Holly Springs ranks in the top 1% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.0% and median household income of $135,578.

Residential permitting has slowed: 375 units authorized over the past twelve months, 38% below the prior year.

A major airport is 16 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
45,248
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$135,578
Top 7% nationally
Density
2,327/sq mi
19.4 sq mi of land
Median age
36.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wake County
North Carolina
Metro area
Raleigh-Cary, NC
Nearest major airport
RDU
16 mi · Raleigh-Durham Intl
Median home value
$535,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.0% is lower than 96% of the 1,567 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.5% over the past year, to 24,483 employed residents.

67% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US cities.

Household income is higher than at least 93% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$6,882$135,578Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,441$53,656Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate4.8%Bottom 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute30.9 minTop 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher67.3%Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment24,483Bottom 32%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)4.5%Top 8%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.5%Top 20%June 2026
Labor force25,242Bottom 31%June 2026
Labor force participation72.0%Top 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$70,740Top 42%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$51,990Top 44%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.1%Bottom 41%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.0%Bottom 4%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/063.82.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.0% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024136k120k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $135,578 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Raleigh-Cary, NC
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons18,660$33,100
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand17,060$38,470
Cashiers14,350$29,770
Customer Service Representatives13,620$41,900
Fast Food and Counter Workers12,790$29,080
Registered Nurses12,780$84,830

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $2,021 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.0 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$2,021
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$535,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.95Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate80.6%Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±57015,625Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$111$2,021Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,603$535,800Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.9%Bottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate4.1%Bottom 24%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
66/ 100
Top 22% of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing — 2 consecutive years, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 17% since 2020, reaching 48,674 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 17% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 8.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
375
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.3
Top 18% nationally
Year over year
−38%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
16.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202449k42k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
20202022202320242025918310
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−62%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 32°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 46.1 inches, including 5.2 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station RALEIGH DURHAM INTL AP, 16.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation46.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall5.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing39°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

67 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and hail.

Inland floodingModerate
HailModerate
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, ice storm, lightning, winter weather, earthquake, cold wave, wildfire, drought, strong wind.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 16 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU16 mi10,000 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO69 mi10,001 ft
Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings FldISO73 mi11,498 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
79
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Other cities in Raleigh-Cary, NC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
RaleighWake County481,03174vs Holly Springs
CaryWake County179,30677vs Holly Springs
ApexWake County70,63082vs Holly Springs
Wake ForestWake County52,84481vs Holly Springs
Fuquay-VarinaWake County40,48575vs Holly Springs
GarnerWake County34,47370vs Holly Springs
MorrisvilleWake County31,42283vs Holly Springs
ClaytonJohnston County29,32071vs Holly Springs

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Holly Springs

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
2754047,771$128,98979