Raleigh, North Carolina
Area Profile
481,031 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Raleigh, in Wake County.
Raleigh ranks in the top 1% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.1% and median household income of $85,395.
A major airport is 9 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.
Its Area Score of 78 places Raleigh in the top 2% of published city profiles.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.1% is lower than 96% of the 140 measured US cities.
Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 282,998 employed residents.
54% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$2,159 | $85,395 | Top 29% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,028 | $52,897 | Top 15% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate | 11.9% | Top 46% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute | 24.8 min | Bottom 40% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 54.0% | Top 9% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Employment | 282,998 | Top 18% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years) | 1.7% | Top 29% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year) | 0.4% | Top 14% | June 2026 |
| Labor force | 291,986 | Top 19% | June 2026 |
| Labor force participation | 70.9% | Top 16% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wage | $70,740 | Top 30% | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wage | $51,990 | Top 31% | 2025 OEWS |
| Unemployment change (year over year) | -0.4% | Bottom 27% | June 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.1% | Bottom 4% | June 2026 |
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 18,660 | $33,100 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 17,060 | $38,470 |
| Cashiers | 14,350 | $29,770 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 13,620 | $41,900 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 12,790 | $29,080 |
| Registered Nurses | 12,780 | $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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated →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 7% since 2020, reaching 499,825 in 2024.
Permit activity has fallen for 3 consecutive years.
Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.
72% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.
At 10.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
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.
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation | 46.1" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall | 5.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low | 32°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high | 91°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months | 6 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing | 39°F | 1991-2020 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
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hail and hurricane.
Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, lightning, ice storm, earthquake, winter weather, 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 9 miles away.
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh-Durham Intl | RDU | 9 mi | 10,000 ft |
| Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld | ISO | 68 mi | 11,498 ft |
| Piedmont Triad Intl | GSO | 75 mi | 10,001 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.
Customize your score
What matters to you?
Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.
Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Raleigh side by side with a similar place.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle | 28-day NASR cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) | Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals | Every ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | June 2026 | Monthly |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS | Annual (spring release) |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate | Annual (vintage released each spring) |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 | Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month |
| Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year | Annual (5-year estimates released each December) |
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.