AreaProfile

27603Raleigh, North Carolina

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 27603.

77
Area Score
Top 5% of 695 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 4% of 727 published ZIP areas82
GrowthTop 12% of 701 published ZIP areas69
Housing affordabilityTop 32% of 800 published ZIP areas80
ClimateTop 44% of 779 published ZIP areas72
Physical resilienceTop 27% of 800 published ZIP areas72
Access578th of 779 published ZIP areas93
Economic stability408th of 800 published ZIP areas58
The quick read

27603 ranks in the top 4% of published ZIP profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.1% and median household income of $90,484.

A major airport is 17 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 77 places 27603 in the top 5% of published ZIP profiles.

At a glance

Population
53,972
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$90,484
Top 26% nationally
Density
1,050/sq mi
51.4 sq mi of land
Median age
35.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Raleigh
North Carolina
Metro area
Raleigh-Cary, NC
Nearest major airport
RDU
17 mi · Raleigh-Durham Intl
Median home value
$383,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1% is lower than 98% of the 1,061 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 282,998 employed residents.

51% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 88% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,970$90,484Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,580$50,497Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.5%Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute29.9 minTop 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher50.7%Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment282,998Top 43%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.7%Top 38%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.4%Top 21%June 2026
Labor force291,986Top 43%June 2026
Labor force participation68.2%Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$70,740Top 32%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$51,990Top 32%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.4%Bottom 36%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.1%Bottom 2%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202490k75k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $90,484 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Raleigh, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,547 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.2 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
20.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.2×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,547
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$383,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.24Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate61.4%Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±87024,238Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$100$1,547Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,449$383,200Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.5%Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.5%Bottom 44%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
69/ 100
Top 12% of 701 published city profiles

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.

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 ZIP areas.

Units permitted
5,124
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
10.9
Top 6% nationally
Year over year
−1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
72.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Raleigh, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.

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, 17.3 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

72 / 100
Physical resilience

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

HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate

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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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 17 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Raleigh-Durham IntlRDU17 mi10,000 ft
Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings FldISO63 mi11,498 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO78 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
77
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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)

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.

27603 vs Raleigh

How this ZIP area compares with Raleigh as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

27603
Raleigh
Median household income
$90,484
vs
$85,395
Per capita income
$50,497
vs
$52,897
Population density
1,050/sq mi
vs
3,187/sq mi
Median home value
$383,200
vs
$415,800
Median gross rent
$1,547
vs
$1,572
Homeownership rate
61.4%
vs
50.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher
50.7%
vs
54.0%
Poverty rate
12.5%
vs
11.9%
Median age
35.6
vs
34.7

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.