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Wake County · North Carolina

ZIP code 27518

Population, income, housing costs and the sales tax rate charged on purchases inside ZIP 27518 — Census 2019-2023 ACS 5-year, no modelled estimates.
Population
18,995

ZCTA residents

Median income
$121,242

Household, past 12 months

Median home
$594,900

Owner-occupied value

Sales tax
4.75%

North Carolina state rate

Quick answer

ZIP 27518 sits in Wake County, North Carolina and is home to 18,995 people. Median household income is $121,242, the median home is worth $594,900 and median gross rent is $1,537. 65.5% of households own their home, and purchases are taxed at 4.75% (North Carolina state rate).

County
Wake County

FIPS 37183

State
North Carolina (NC)

853 ZIPs covered

Area codes
Not published

No NANPA match for this ZIP

Metro area
Outside covered metros

Rate jurisdiction used for tax

The numbers for 27518

American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZCTA.

Population
18,995ZIP 27518 residents
Median household income
$121,242Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value
$594,900Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent
$1,537Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age
47.2 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate
65.5%Owner-occupied households

ZIP 27518 in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

ZIP 27518 is a mid-size town in Wake County, North Carolina, with 18,995 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #207 of 853 ranked by population — larger than 75% of them. The median age here is 47.2 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in ZIP 27518 earn a median of $121,242 a year, 54.4% above the national figure of $78,538. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 4.8% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 27518 is valued at $594,900, 96.1% above the national figure, while median gross rent runs $1,537 a month, 9.3% above the national figure, or roughly $18,444 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 15.2% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 4.9×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 65.5% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. 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.

Reading ZIP 27518 in context

How 27518 sits inside Wake County and North Carolina.

ZIP 27518 is tabulated inside Wake County, North Carolina, one of 32 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 853 across North Carolina. This is a mid-sized suburban ZIP inside a county that is split across many delivery areas. County assignment on this page follows the largest share of the ZIP's land area, which matters where a delivery route crosses a county line: mail addressed to 27518 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.

Against its own county, 27518 reports a median household income of $121,242, 21% above the $99,819 county median, and 94% above the $62,646 typical NC ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $594,900, 34% above the county figure and 193% above the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $1,537 a month, which is why it reads higher than the advertised rent on a listing for the same unit.

North Carolina charges 4.75% statewide, and local governments overlapping 27518 may add county, city or special-district levies on top. We publish the state floor for this ZIP rather than guessing a combined figure, because ZIP boundaries and taxing-district boundaries were drawn for different purposes and do not line up.

Everything above comes from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZIP Code Tabulation Area, with sales tax rates traced to the state revenue agency. Five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses, so they are stable enough to compare 27518 with its neighbours but always trail the current year, and any value the Census suppressed for sample size is shown as unpublished rather than filled in with a model.

Sales tax in 27518

What a purchase inside this ZIP costs at checkout.

Rate applied
4.75%State base rate only
Tax on $100
$5Rounded to the dollar
Tax on $1,000
$48Before any exemptions

North Carolina levies 4.75% statewide, and counties, cities and special districts inside this ZIP can add their own local rate on top. Check the county page for the local component before you quote a price.

Affordability in this ZIP

Derived from the Census medians above — indicative, not an offer.

Rent burden
15%Median rent ÷ median income
Price-to-income
4.9×Home value ÷ household income
Est. mortgage
$3,087/mo20% down, 30-yr at 6.75%
Poverty rate
4.8%Residents below poverty line

A rent burden above 30% is the federal threshold for cost-burdened households, and a price-to-income multiple above 4× is generally considered a stretched housing market. The mortgage figure is principal and interest only — taxes, insurance and HOA dues are extra.

How 27518 compares

ZIP 27518 against the median ZIP in Wake County and across North Carolina.

MeasureZIP 27518County medianState medianvs state
Median household income$121,242$99,819$62,646+94%
Median home value$594,900$445,300$203,100+193%
Median gross rent$1,537$1,498$941+63%
Population18,99534,6495,300+258%

Medians are computed across the 32 ZIP areas in Wake County and the 853 ZIP areas in North Carolina.

Statewide rank

Where this ZIP places among all 853 North Carolina ZIP areas.

Income

richer than 96% of 766 state ZIPs

#28
Home value

above 98% of 763 state ZIPs

#16
Population

larger than 76% of 853 state ZIPs

#207

Comparable ZIP codes

North Carolina ZIP areas with almost the same household income.

ZIPCountyIncomeHome valueRent
28278Mecklenburg County$121,366$413,400$1,736
28078Mecklenburg County$120,503$441,700$1,722
28277Mecklenburg County$122,223$507,600$1,814
27614Wake County$122,258$530,100$1,548
27523Chatham County$122,401$585,900$1,805
27929Currituck County$122,558$367,300$1,667

Nearby ZIP codes

Other ZIP codes filed under Wake County.

Adjacent ZIP Codes

Other ZIP codes in Wake County, North Carolina.

ZIP 27518 questions

Common questions about this ZIP code.

Where is ZIP code 27518?
ZIP 27518 lies mostly in Wake County, North Carolina. County assignment follows the largest share of land area, so a ZIP straddling a county line is filed under its dominant county.
What sales tax do I pay in 27518?
North Carolina charges 4.75% statewide, plus any county, city or district rate that applies locally.
Is 27518 expensive to live in?
Median rent runs $1,537 a month, about 15% of median household income, and the median home is worth $594,900 — +193% against the typical North Carolina ZIP.
Is a ZCTA the same as a postal ZIP code?
Not exactly. The Census builds ZIP Code Tabulation Areas from the ZIP codes of addresses inside each census block, so a ZCTA can differ slightly from the USPS delivery route of the same number, and PO-box-only ZIPs have no ZCTA at all.

Related pages for this area.

Sources & transparency

Every figure on this page is a published estimate for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 27518, except the affordability ratios and mortgage estimate, which we derive from those medians and label as estimates.

Last reviewed December 2024. Figures are published for reference and can change; verify with the source agency before filing or contracting. How we build and check this data.