Raleigh

Raleigh, North Carolina 

The capital of North Carolina and the county seat of Wake County in the United States is Raleigh. After Charlotte, it has the second-highest population in North Carolina. The major city in the Research Triangle metropolitan area, Raleigh is the tenth most populous city in the Southeast and the 41st most populous city nationwide. Due to the numerous oak trees that border the streets in the center of the city, Raleigh is referred to as the "City of Oaks." The city has a 147.6 sq mi land area (382 km2). In the 2020 census, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 474,069 residents living in the city. It is one of the American cities with the fastest population growth. Sir Walter Raleigh, who founded the long-lost Roanoke Colony in the present-day Dare County, is honored with the name Raleigh. 

The Research Triangle, which also includes Durham (the campus of Duke University and North Carolina Central University), Chapel Hill, and Raleigh, is where North Carolina State University (NC State) is located (home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). After the establishment of Research Triangle Park (RTP) in 1959, which is situated between the three cities and colleges and is located in Durham and Wake counties, the region came to be known as the Research Triangle (commonly abbreviated as the "Triangle"). The Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which is included in the Triangle, has an estimated population of 2,037,430 in 2013. 2019 population estimates for the Raleigh Metropolitan Statistical Area put the total at 1,390,785. 

With a tiny fraction stretching into Durham County, Raleigh is mostly contained inside Wake County. Some of Raleigh's most important surrounding suburbs and satellite towns are Cary, Morrisville, Garner, Clayton, Wake Forest, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon, and Rolesville. 

Raleigh is a pioneering example of a planned city in the United States. The region was selected in 1788 to serve as the location of the state capital after the American Revolutionary War, and it was founded as such in 1792. The North Carolina State Capitol, located in Union Square, served as the city's geographic center when it was first planned out as a grid. The city was not involved in any notable battles during the American Civil War. As the war came to an end, it was taken over by the Union, which then had to contend with the economic difficulties brought on by the reconstruction of labor markets, an overreliance on agriculture, and the Reconstruction Era's social instability. Tens of thousands of jobs in research and technology were made possible because to the 1959 founding of the Research Triangle Park (RTP). Raleigh was one of the American cities with the highest population growth at the beginning of the twenty-first century. 

Geography 

The city of Raleigh has a total area of 144.0 sq mi (373.0 km2), of which 142 sq mi (369 km2) is land and 0.97 sq mi (2.5 km2), or 0.76%, is water. This is based on data from the United States Census Bureau. The city's northeastern corner is traversed by the Neuse River. 

Raleigh is situated in North Carolina's northeast central region, where the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plains collide. The "fall line" here designates the height inland at which creeks and rivers start to exhibit waterfalls. Because of this, Raleigh's majority is made up of gently sloping hills that descend eastward toward the state's flat coastal plain. 

Raleigh is situated 155 miles (249 km) southwest of Richmond, Virginia, and 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Durham. It is also 63 miles (101 km) northeast of Fayetteville, 131 miles (211 km) northwest of Wilmington, 165 miles (266 km) northeast of Charlotte, and 63 miles (101 km) northeast of Raleigh. 

Durham County, North Carolina, is home to a tiny portion of Raleigh. 

Climate 

Raleigh has a humid subtropical climate, similar to much of the Southeastern United States (Köppen Cfa). Winters are typically mild; the average daily mean temperature in January is 41.9 °F (5.5 °C). Only 2.7 days per year fail to climb above freezing, compared to an average of 69 nights per year that are at or below freezing. The average yearly rainfall in Raleigh is 46.07 millimeters (117.0 cm).  

Based on climatic data from 1991 through 2020, the graphic below shows annual and monthly temperature and precipitation data. With an average of 2.78 inches (70.6 mm) of precipitation, February is the driest month. The likelihood of tropical weather systems bringing heavy rainfall (primarily from August to early October) and generally frequent, occasionally heavy showers and thunderstorms result in a well-distributed distribution of precipitation throughout the year, with a slight maximum between July and September.  

With a typical July daily mean temperature of 80.5 °F (26.9 °C), summers are hot and muggy. There are 48 days a year with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher. Overall, autumn is similar to spring but has fewer days of rainfall. However, because to the sporadic threat of tropical weather systems (hurricanes and tropical storms) carrying copious rainfall, autumn has a greater potential for exceptionally heavy rainfall in a one- or two-day period.  

With almost 21 inches of rain in September 1999, Raleigh experienced its wettest month ever as a result of severe downpours brought on by tropical weather systems, most notably Hurricane Floyd on September 15–16. The most recent temperature extremes occurred on June 29–30 and July 8, 2012. Temperature extremes have ranged from 9 °F (23 °C) on January 21, 1985 to 105 °F (41 °C). Raleigh is located in USDA hardiness zones 8a (10 °F to 15 °F) and 7b (5 °F to 10 °F), respectively. 

2015 Raleigh, North Carolina, light snowfall along Hillsborough Street 

In the winter, Raleigh receives 5.2 in (13.2 cm) of snow on average. Most winters also bring freezing rain and sleet, and occasionally a significant devastating ice storm hits the region. A single storm, the Winter Storm of January 2000, dropped 20.3 inches (52 cm) of snow on Raleigh on January 24 and 25, 2000. Due to the city's closeness to the Appalachian Mountains, storms of this size are typically caused by cold air damming. Traffic issues have also been brought on by winter storms in the past.  

Periods of drought are also sporadic in the area, and the city occasionally limits water use by its citizens. Hurricanes are occasionally experienced in Raleigh in the late summer and early fall. Hurricane Fran in 1996 severely damaged the Raleigh region, largely due to trees collapsing. The high rainfall of over 21 inches in September 1999 was primarily caused by Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd. 2018's Hurricane Florence was the most recent hurricane to have a significant impact on the region.  

The city of Raleigh has also occasionally experienced tornadoes, most notably the tornado that struck on November 28, 1988, early in the morning, rated F4 on the Fujita scale, and primarily impacted the city's northwest. There was also the EF3 tornado of April 16, 2011, which had an impact on parts of downtown and northeast Raleigh as well as the neighborhood of Holly Springs. 

Religion 

There are numerous different religions represented in Raleigh. The majority of people in Raleigh identify as Christians, with Baptists (14.1%), Methodists (5.6%), and Roman Catholics (4.2%) making up the majority of believers. In addition, there are other Christian denominations (10.2%), such as the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Christian Unitarianism, other Mainline Protestant groups, and non-denominational Christians.  

These include Presbyterianism (2.8%), Pentecostalism (1.7%), Anglicanism/Episcopalianism (1.2%), Lutheranism (0.6%), and the Latter-Day Saints (0.7%). The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the New Hope Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh all have their main offices in Raleigh. 

1.31% of religious practitioners practice one of the other religions, which includes Baha'i, Druze, Taoism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Also practiced are Judaism (0.9%) and Islam (0.8%). 

In Wake County, 29% of the population is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, 22% with the Catholic Church, 17% with the United Methodist Church, 6% with the Presbyterian Church (USA), and 27% are associated with other denominations or religions or are not associated with any religion at all. 

Economy 

Financial services, electrical, medical, electronic, and telecommunications equipment, clothes and apparel, food manufacturing, paper products, and medicines make up Raleigh's industrial base. Raleigh is a key hub for high-tech and biotech research, as well as the creation of advanced textiles, in the United States. Raleigh is a component of North Carolina's Research Triangle, one of the biggest and most prosperous research parks in the nation. The city serves as a significant retail shipping hub for eastern North Carolina and a hub for the distribution of groceries at wholesale prices. 

Numerous businesses with headquarters in Raleigh are part of the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, including PRA Health Sciences, Chiesi USA (a subsidiary of Chiesi Farmaceutici), formerly Mallinckrodt before being caught evading taxes in Ireland, MAKO Surgical Corp., Metabolon, Inc., TearScience, and American Board of Anesthesiology. 

On the Forbes list of the top cities for businesses and careers in 2015, Raleigh came in first. Advance Auto Parts, Bandwidth, Truist Financial, Building Materials Holding Corporation, Capitol Broadcasting Company, Carquest, First Citizens BancShares, Golden Corral, Martin Marietta Materials, PRA Health Sciences, Red Hat, Vontier, Waste Industries, and Lulu are among the businesses based in Raleigh. 

Imangi Studios, the company that created Temple Run, and Social Blade, a website that measures social media metrics, have their headquarters in Raleigh. 

Raleigh also serves as the headquarters for the North Carolina Air National Guard, an Air National Guard component. 

Raleigh has "a real concentration of brain power," according to Steven P. Rosenthal of Northland Investment Corp. in April 2014. Many intelligent people reside in the same area as you. The economy will grow as a result. 

Population 

North Carolina's Wake County is home to the city of Raleigh. It is the second-largest city in North Carolina and the forty-first-largest city in the United States with a population of 486,796 in 2023. Raleigh's population has grown by 3.64% since the most recent census, which showed a population of 469,698 in 2020, and is now rising at a pace of 1.33% annually. With a total length of almost 147 miles, Raleigh has 3,337 residents per square mile. 

The poverty rate in Raleigh is 13.63% and the average household income is $94,359. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Raleigh, the median age is 34 years, with 32.7 years for men and 35.3 years for women. 

However, the population of the Raleigh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is estimated to be 1.21 million. An estimated 2.03 million people live in the broader Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area (CSA). 1,097 people live in Raleigh per square kilometer, or 2,963 people per square mile. 

Top 2 News Websites 

WRAL.com 

Find the most recent news for Central and Eastern North Carolina, including Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, and Wilson, as well as weather forecasts, traffic on I-40, ACC and high school sports, bizarre stories, and blogs. 

CBS 17 

We do all we can to improve living conditions in Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, and the rest of North Carolina by featuring local news and weather stories. 

Current City Mayor 

Before being elected mayor in 2019, Mary-Ann Baldwin served five terms as an at-large member of the Raleigh City Council. Both the Economic Development and Innovation Committee and the Safe, Healthy, and Vibrant Community Committee are chaired by Mayor Baldwin. 

Prior to graduating from the Community College of Rhode Island, Mayor Baldwin obtained her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Rhode Island. 

In March 2022, Mayor Baldwin joined First Tee - Triangle, where her primary role is fundraising. She previously held the positions of executive director of the Carolina Hurricanes Kids 'n Community Foundation and the Holt Brothers Foundation, both of which provide assistance to kids whose parents are fighting cancer. She is a co-founder of two nonprofit organizations, one devoted to student success and the other, Innovate Raleigh, a regional catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Triangle region.  

Along with several years of leadership in the non-profit sector, she has more than 30 years of expertise in communications, marketing, branding, and business development. Mayor Baldwin has held positions on various non-profit boards, including those for the American Lung Association, Communities in Schools of Wake County, and Artsplosure. She previously held the position of chair of the North Carolina Museum of Art's Business Friends Council. Currently, Mayor Baldwin is a director on the Wake Tech Foundation Board of Directors and a trustee at William Peace University. 

Mayor Baldwin likes to play golf, go skiing, go trekking, and cook for his loved ones. She and her husband take pleasure in spending time with their two dogs, Charlie Brown and Jack Bauer, as well as their grandchildren.