County Maps US

Wake County, North Carolina

The most populous of North Carolina's 100 counties.

CountyFIPS 37183

Within North Carolina
Wake County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Raleigh, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
1,257,235
+126,332 (+11.2%) since 2020
Land area
834.8
square miles. A further 2.6% of the total area is water
Population density
1,506
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Raleigh
Seat of county government.
Established
1771
254 years ago
Largest city
Raleigh city
Population 504,646 for the whole place, which extends beyond this county.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Wake County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Wake County, North Carolina from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 747 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Wake County ranks

Position among the 100 counties of North Carolina, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn North CarolinaNationally
Population1,257,2351st of 10036th of 3,144
Land area834.8 sq mi7th of 1001,007th of 3,144
Population density1,506 per sq mi2nd of 100105th of 3,144
Median household income$105,7681st of 100120th of 3,143

Full data for Wake County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population1,257,235Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 20201,130,903Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?1,129,356Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area834.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area22.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area857 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?1,506 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$105,768American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$461,300American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age37.3American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households460,175American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units496,047American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
+6,369
13,171 births, 6,802 deaths
Net migration
+21,392
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 7 areas bordering Wake County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Johnston CountyNorth Carolina33 mi256,448
Franklin CountyNorth Carolina26 mi82,037
Durham CountyNorth Carolina26 mi347,240
Chatham CountyNorth Carolina23 mi85,111
Harnett CountyNorth Carolina12 mi150,137
Granville CountyNorth Carolina12 mi61,421
Nash CountyNorth Carolinaa single point99,365

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 100 counties of North Carolina

Open the interactive North Carolina county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.