1,232,444 people (2024 Census estimate, +9.0% since 2020)
835 square miles of land · 1,477 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
326 active community water systems list Wake County in the area they serve, reporting 1,144,130 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| RALEIGH, CITY OF surface water · local government · NC0392010 | 650,000 served |
| CARY, TOWN OF surface water · local government · NC0392020 | 227,300 served |
| APEX, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0392045 | 83,001 served |
| HOLLY SPRINGS, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0392050 | 51,947 served |
| FUQUAY-VARINA, TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · NC0392055 | 42,954 served |
| BAYLEAF MASTER groundwater · private · NC0392373 | 16,715 served |
| NEW LIGHT MASTER groundwater · private · NC4392224 | 2,619 served |
| STONEHENGE S/D groundwater · private · NC0392298 | 1,840 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 1,462 people were held in Wake County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 180 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 1,201.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Wake County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $2.2 billion — $1.9 billion to run schools, about $11,692 per student, plus $250.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $643.4 million local (mostly property tax), $1.1 billion state, $211.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.8 billion.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wake County about $299.1 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
800 bridges in Wake County: 458 in good condition, 300 fair, and 42 poor (5.3%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US1NBL over SEABOARD RR · built 1941 | 45,500 vehicles a day |
| SR1010 CENTER ST. over US1 · built 1959 | 27,500 vehicles a day |
| SR1005 over I440 · built 1961 | 25,500 vehicles a day |
| PULLEN ROAD over NORFORK SOUTHERN CSX RR · built 1977 | 20,000 vehicles a day |
| US401 over CRABTREE CREEK · built 1937 | 18,000 vehicles a day |
| I40 EBL COLL over US1 · built 1982 | 17,500 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $6.6 billion of work in Wake County in fiscal 2025, about $5,838 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-09. Early voting: 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-31. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-20. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: NC State Board of Elections: upcoming election · NC State Board of Elections: vote in person · NC State Board of Elections: voter ID
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Wake County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Wake County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Durham County (21 mi) · Johnston County (25 mi) · Franklin County (29 mi) · Harnett County (32 mi) · Orange County (32 mi) · Chatham County (34 mi).