Raleigh, NC population, income and ZIP codes

Raleigh city is a mid-size city in North Carolina, with 470,763 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #2 of 777 ranked by population — larger than 99% of them. The median age here is 34.7 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.

Households in Raleigh city earn a median of $82,424 a year, 4.9% above the national figure of $78,538 and 35% above the $61,228 median for the 459 North Carolina cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 11.4% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Raleigh city is valued at $377,800, 24.5% above the national figure and 72% above the $219,800 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,468 a month, 4.4% above the national figure, or roughly $17,616 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 21.4% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 4.6×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 51.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.