Knightdale, North Carolina

Area Profile

20,214 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Knightdale, in Wake County.

69out of 100
Area Score
Top 17% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 14% of 4,199 cities measured76
Schools3,838th of 4,162 cities measured16
GrowthTop 3% of 4,224 cities measured83
Housing affordabilityTop 21% of 4,218 cities measured76
ClimateTop 43% of 4,225 cities measured72
Physical resilienceTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured73
Access2,157th of 4,226 cities measured92
Economic stabilityTop 15% of 4,226 cities measured74
The quick read

Knightdale ranks in the top 14% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $103,220. The unemployment rate is published for Wake County, NC, which contains Knightdale, rather than for Knightdale alone.

In the public schools here, 24% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.2 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 747 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 34% on the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
20,214
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$103,220
Top 17% nationally
Density
2,100/sq mi
9.6 sq mi of land
Median age
33.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
North Carolina
Nearest major airport
RDU
17 mi · Raleigh-Durham Intl
Median home value
$380,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Wake County, NC, which contains Knightdale, is 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Wake County, NC, which contains Knightdale, fell 1.1% over the past year, to 673,336 employed residents.

49% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 88% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsWake County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$84,66866th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftWake County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$83,56169th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$11,3332024 ACS 5-Year$103,220Top 17%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,3622024 ACS 5-Year$44,817Top 24%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%Top 27%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.1 minTop 47%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year48.9%Top 12%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year69.6%27th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentWake County, NC’s figureJuly 2026673,336Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Wake County, NC’s figureJuly 2026+1.3%Top 27%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Wake County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Bottom 43%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceWake County, NC’s figureJuly 2026695,67789th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.9%Top 15%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageRaleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$70,740Top 42%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageRaleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,990Top 44%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Wake County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateWake County, NC’s figureJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year19.0%84th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024103k72k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $103,220 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

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Wake County, NC, which contains this city.

24% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 30% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.2 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
24.4%
Bottom 3% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
30.4%
Bottom 2% in North Carolina
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Knightdale HighWake County Schools1,69516.124%32%
Forestville Road ElementaryWake County Schools57012.423%31%
Knightdale ElementaryWake County Schools54914.129%28%
Hodge Road ElementaryWake County Schools52213.720%25%
Lockhart ElementaryWake County Schools46311.927%33%

84.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against North Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 98.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area is up 45% over five years, and up 1.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,828 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.74% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,789, close to the $1,674 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,789 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $71,600 a year, about 69% of the median household income here of $103,220.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,674 a month.

A median home at $380,100 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $120,921, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
98.4

Prices here run about 2% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
27.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,789
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,674
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$380,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Knightdale’s median household income of $103,220, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure202398.4Top 40%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.1%22nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+44.9%56th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+105.2%69th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 32%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year64.7%28th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4382024 ACS 5-Year8,02592nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,629Bottom 36%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,249Bottom 47%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,789Bottom 42%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$812024 ACS 5-Year$1,674Bottom 15%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,7012024 ACS 5-Year$380,10081st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1672024 ACS 5-Year$2,82871st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,6112024 ACS 5-Year$120,921Top 15%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.74%33rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year27.6%Top 46%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±252024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.4%41st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2222024 ACS 5-Year43188th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

83/ 100
Top 3% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 12% since 2020, reaching 21,829 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 747 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Wake County, which contains Knightdale, gained about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $84,668, close to the $83,561 of households that moved out.

At 37.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
747
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
37.0
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
+34%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202422k19k
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. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
59%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$84,668
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$83,561
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Durham County, NC 5,610 people · 8.5% of arrivals
  2. Johnston County, NC 3,461 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  3. Mecklenburg County, NC 1,491 people · 2.3% of arrivals
  4. Franklin County, NC 1,337 people · 2.0% of arrivals
  5. Guilford County, NC 1,163 people · 1.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Johnston County, NC 6,568 people · 11% of departures
  2. Durham County, NC 4,950 people · 8.4% of departures
  3. Harnett County, NC 2,837 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Franklin County, NC 2,774 people · 4.7% of departures
  5. Mecklenburg County, NC 1,708 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Wake County, NC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025656128
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+312%).

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 46, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

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, 17.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year602024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals46.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals5.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year462024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
46
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
60
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 74% of it. Tornado and heat wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, lightning, ice storm, earthquake, winter weather, cold wave, wildfire, drought, strong wind, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

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.

Violent crime
205
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,283
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Knightdale's police department reported 205 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,283.

Wake County records 2.8 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 10.1 per 100,000 residents in Wake County.

Homicide
2.8
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Knightdale’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Knightdale (Wake County) rather than Knightdale itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Raleigh-Durham Intl at 17 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year96.7%Top 17%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle17 miTop 49%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%Top 25%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU17 mi10,000 ft
Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings FldISO59 mi11,498 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO84 mi10,001 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
69
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Other cities in Raleigh-Cary, NC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
RaleighWake County481,03170Raleigh vs Knightdale
CaryWake County179,30674Cary vs Knightdale
ApexWake County70,63078Apex vs Knightdale
Wake ForestWake County52,84476
Holly SpringsWake County45,24874
Fuquay-VarinaWake County40,48570
GarnerWake County34,47366
MorrisvilleWake County31,42281
ClaytonJohnston County29,32068
WendellWake County13,06466
SmithfieldJohnston County12,11659
RolesvilleWake County10,76673

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.

Compare

Put Knightdale side by side with a similar place.

Knightdale vs WendellKnightdale vs Kyle

Moving to Knightdale from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Knightdale

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Knightdale with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2754534,163$91,527$346,90068