County profile
Wake County, NC
United States · GDP 2024
#47 of 3,127 US counties by GDP73rd-percentile growthmore diversified than 99% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$128.4B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+6.5%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
556,250
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
33,873
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$74.1k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
1,257,235
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.1%
Median HH income
$105.8k±$1.6k
Bachelor's degree+
57.2%±0.7%
Poverty rate
8.1%±0.4%
Business applications
28,887 · 2025
Retail establishments
3,618
29.4/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1First Citizens BancShares, Inc.Financial Services$9.5B50D2Advance Auto Parts, Inc.Consumer Cyclical$8.6B61C3Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.Basic Materials$6.2B80B+4Vontier CorporationIndustrials$3.1B66B5Pyxus International, Inc.Consumer Defensive$2.4B59C6Ralliant CorpTechnology$2.1B40D7Enact Holdings Inc.Financial Services$1.2B67B8Extreme Networks, Inc.Technology$1.1B74B9Highwoods Properties, Inc.Real Estate$806.1M59C10Bandwidth Inc.Technology$753.8M62C11Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc.Industrials$456.0M50D12Fathom Holdings Inc.Real Estate$420.5M33D13Liquidia CorporationHealthcare$158.3M59C14ACCESS Newswire Inc.Communication Services$22.6M72B15Charles & Colvard, Ltd.Consumer Cyclical$22.0M——16Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc.Technology$4.4M40D17SMS Alternatives Inc.Technology$1.5M——18374Water Inc.Industrials$215.0k32D19Anvi Global Holdings, Inc.Basic Materials$137.9k17D20MGT Capital Investments, Inc.Financial Services$87.0k20D21iEntertainment Network, Inc.Technology$41.5k29D22Solar Energy Initiatives, Inc.Technology$0——23Foodbase Group, Inc.Consumer Cyclical$0——24Icon Media Holdings, Inc.Communication Services———25Vogenx Inc.Healthcare———HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Health care22%
Professional services21%
Retail trade18%
Food & accommodation17%
Admin & support11%
Construction11%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
1,257,235
residents · 2025 · +11.2% since 2020
Income per capita $85.6k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+56,656
International migration+39,111
Natural change+30,750
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$86.4B2019
$87.4B2020
$98.3B2021
$109.1B2022
$120.6B2023
$128.4B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$461.3k±$3.8k
Median gross rent
$1.6k/mo±$16/mo
Vacancy rate
7.2%±0.4%
Affordability
6.2× wages
Residential permits
$3.5B
13,806 units · 11.0/1k pop
FEMA risk score
95.5
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.8k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Hail 99Heat wave 97Tornado 95
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
5452016
5842017
6192018
6532019
6742020
7672021
9482022
10012023
10482024
10592025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -19% since 202116,9882021
18,4712022
17,3892023
15,2482024
13,8062025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
3.8 km
I-40
Nearest freight rail
0.6 km
NS
Nearest port
145.6 km
WELLS OATES LUMBER CO
Nearest commercial airport
15.6 km
RALEIGH-DURHAM INTL
Filing activity
SEC EDGAR49 filings from 19 companies here in the last 90 days.
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$74.1k
avg. annual pay · +21% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPThe read
What is the GDP of Wake?
Wake's economy produced $128.4B in 2024, growing 6.5% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.