• county
  • FIPS 37183
  • Largest town: Raleigh

Wake County, North Carolina

Wake County had 1,232,444 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 834.6 square miles of land. It is the most populous of North Carolina's 100 county-equivalents.

Population
1,232,444
#1 of 100 in North Carolina · #37 in US
Area
834.6 sq mi
#7 of 100 in North Carolina · #1,007 in US
Density
1,477 / sq mi
#2 of 100 in North Carolina · #110 in US
Median household income
$103,084
#1 of 100 in North Carolina · #108 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Wake County within North Carolina. Pin: Raleigh.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Wake County

Wake County population, land area and income

Wake County had 1,232,444 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 834.6 square miles of land. It is the most populous of North Carolina's 100 county-equivalents. That works out to 1,476.7 people per square mile, 15.3 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top tenth nationally.

The median county-equivalent in North Carolina has 52,768 residents, so Wake County is 23.4 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $103,084 is in the top tenth among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

1,232,444

3144th1st

37th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

835 sq mi

3144th1st

1007th of 3,144 (US)

Density

1,476.7 / sq mi

3144th1st

110th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$103,084

3143rd1st

108th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within North Carolina (100)

Population

1,232,444

100th1st

1st of 100 (NC)

Land area

835 sq mi

100th1st

7th of 100 (NC)

Density

1,476.7 / sq mi

100th1st

2nd of 100 (NC)

Median household income

$103,084

100th1st

1st of 100 (NC)

How Wake County's population changed since 2020

Wake County gained 101,750 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 9.0%. That ranks 11th of 100 in North Carolina for growth. The median North Carolina county changed by +2.7%, and the state as a whole by +5.7%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Wake County recorded 55,347 births and 29,079 deaths, a natural change of +26,268. Net international migration added +33,145 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +43,710. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 43,710 people.

1.13M20201.15M20211.17M20221.20M20231.23M2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
55,347
Deaths
29,079
Net international migration
+33,145
Net domestic migration
+43,710
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+29,050

Where Wake County is

The Census internal point of Wake County is at 35.789800, -78.650600. It sits in UTM zone 17N. The map shades North Carolina's 100 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Wake County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Scotland County: +1.4%Rockingham County: +2.5%Franklin County: +15.6%Caswell County: -0.5%Stokes County: +2.9%Granville County: +2.3%Edgecombe County: +0.7%Randolph County: +2.8%Alexander County: +0.8%Person County: +2.4%Cherokee County: +5.2%Ashe County: +2.5%Davidson County: +5.2%Cabarrus County: +7.8%Mecklenburg County: +8.1%Burke County: +1.5%Cumberland County: +0.4%Northampton County: -4.9%Buncombe County: +3.5%Wilson County: +0.8%Bladen County: +0.5%Pitt County: +4.1%Yancey County: +2.7%Stanly County: +7.4%Harnett County: +9.3%Wilkes County: +0.5%Tyrrell County: +8.8%Pamlico County: +1.9%Hoke County: +6.0%Transylvania County: +2.5%Carteret County: +3.8%Durham County: +6.5%Anson County: +1.8%Pender County: +15.6%Alamance County: +6.7%Polk County: +4.9%Lenoir County: +0.5%Washington County: -3.0%Avery County: -0.0%Hyde County: +1.5%Gates County: -1.4%Davie County: +5.8%Jackson County: +7.4%Montgomery County: +2.5%Martin County: -2.0%Pasquotank County: +2.9%Perquimans County: +3.4%Cleveland County: +2.3%Sampson County: +2.3%Catawba County: +3.8%Alleghany County: +4.5%Robeson County: +2.3%Macon County: +4.4%Clay County: +8.0%Haywood County: +1.3%Duplin County: +3.8%Henderson County: +3.6%Craven County: +2.6%Warren County: +2.6%Graham County: +1.7%Union County: +9.9%Wayne County: +2.2%Gaston County: +5.9%Guilford County: +3.7%Yadkin County: +2.0%Watauga County: +1.0%Rowan County: +4.4%Swain County: -1.1%Chatham County: +9.4%Bertie County: -4.4%Halifax County: -2.9%Forsyth County: +4.1%Onslow County: +3.8%Dare County: +3.1%Chowan County: +1.3%Brunswick County: +20.9%Johnston County: +14.9%Orange County: +6.4%Currituck County: +13.6%New Hanover County: +7.5%Richmond County: -1.7%Vance County: -0.5%Iredell County: +9.9%Lincoln County: +12.0%Caldwell County: +0.2%McDowell County: +1.6%Rutherford County: +1.9%Mitchell County: +0.9%Moore County: +8.1%Columbus County: -0.8%Lee County: +8.1%Greene County: +1.1%Madison County: +5.0%Camden County: +7.5%Hertford County: -12.0%Beaufort County: -0.3%Jones County: +3.5%Wake County: +9.0%Nash County: +3.0%Surry County: +0.2%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < +0.5%
  2. < +2.3%
  3. < +3.7%
  4. < +7.4%
  5. ≥ +7.4%
no data

Orange pin: Wake County internal point. Dark pin: Raleigh.

Internal point

Decimal
35.789800, -78.650600
DMS
35°47'23.28"N 78°39'2.16"W
UTM
17N 712325.3E 3963181.2N
Geohash
dq25d726s
Plus code
8773Q8QX+WQ

Towns in Wake County

14 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Wake County, 1,036,234 people together, or 84% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Wake County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Raleigh with 498,179.

  1. 01Raleigh (part)498,179
  2. 02Cary (part)178,637
  3. 03Apex (part)75,946
  4. 04Wake Forest (part)54,109
  5. 05Holly Springs48,674
  6. 06Fuquay-Varina46,317
  7. 07Garner39,345
  8. 08Morrisville (part)32,380
  9. 09Knightdale21,829
  10. 10Wendell16,845
  11. 11Rolesville11,854
  12. 12Zebulon10,505
  13. 13Angier (part)1,321
  14. 14Durham (part)293
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Wake County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Wake County. The most populous is Durham County, NC, with 343,628 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Raleigh and the nearest big city

Raleigh is inside or next to Wake County. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Raleigh, NC (population 499,825), 3.0 miles away.

Wake County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Wake County is 37183: state code 37 for North Carolina plus county code 183. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $103,084.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Wake County, North Carolina?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 1,232,444. That is up 101,750 people (9.0%) from the July 2020 estimate of 1,130,694.

What is the FIPS code of Wake County?

37183. The first two digits (37) are North Carolina; the last three (183) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Wake County?

Raleigh, with 498,179 residents inside Wake County in 2024 (499,825 across all 2 counties it spans).

Which counties border Wake County?

7 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Durham County, NC; Johnston County, NC; Harnett County, NC; Nash County, NC; Chatham County, NC; Franklin County, NC; Granville County, NC.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.