Census place 3770540

Wake Forest

A Census profile of the people, homes, and daily patterns that shape this place.

Official Census name: Wake Forest town

Relocation snapshot

What stands out in Wake Forest.

According to the 2025 estimate, Wake Forest has a population of 58,147 and 2,915 residents per square mile. Of the six relocation measures evaluated, the three largest relative differences from the median among 93 covered North Carolina places are: median household income is $123,802, above the comparison median of $66,738; population density is 2,915/sq mi, above the comparison median of 1,644/sq mi; and median home value is $474,500, above the comparison median of $309,100. These unweighted medians compare covered Census places and are not statewide estimates.

median household income: $123,802
population density: 2,915/sq mi
median home value: $474,500

National context

Follow the metrics.

Compare Wake Forest's values with other covered Census places. Rankings are descriptive, not recommendations.

At a glance

A city in numbers.

Population: 58,147
Annual change: +2.7%
Density: 2,915/sq mi
Median age: 38.6 years

Living here

The everyday equation.

Households, homes, education, and the time it takes to get around.

Median household income: $123,802
Median home value: $474,500
Median gross rent: $1,596
Bachelor’s degree or higher: 59.5%
Typical commute: 30.9 min
Drive-alone commute: 64.5%
Public transit commute: 0%
Walked to work: 1.1%

Housing

Who rents, and what it takes.

Renter share and rent burden help describe the housing choices visible in this place.

Renter-occupied homes: 26%
Renters paying 30%+ of income: 46.3%

Work

How the workday lands.

Employment status and working-from-home share add context to income and commuting patterns.

Employed residents 16+: 66.9%
Unemployed residents 16+: 2.8%
Working from home: 28.7%

Community

The everyday infrastructure.

Access, mobility, housing growth, and household composition add another layer to a place's day-to-day picture.

Households with broadband: 97.8%
Homes built 2020+: 7%
Households without a vehicle: 3.2%
Households with children: 38.8%
Residents with a disability: 10%
Residents without insurance: 4.7%

Environmental context

A record of declared events.

FEMA declarations for Wake County provide historical context, not a forecast or a property-level risk assessment.

Environmental declarations since 2000: 13
Hurricane declarations: 8
Severe Storm declarations: 2
Tropical Storm declarations: 2

Climate normals

The long view of weather.

Thirty-year averages, not a forecast. Temperature and precipitation describe the typical conditions recorded from 1991 through 2020.

Representative station: RALEIGH AP (16 mi from place center)

Average high: 72°F
Average low: 50.4°F
Annual rainfall: 46.1"
Annual snowfall: 5.2"

Month by month

A year in Wake Forest.

Typical high and low °F

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Typical precipitation inches

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Data vintage

Population is from the 2025 Population Estimates Program. Household, housing, education, and commute data are from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year release. Disaster declarations are from FEMA's OpenFEMA dataset and are refreshed with this edition.

Population estimates ACS profile TIGERweb boundary NOAA climate normals FEMA declarations

Similar places

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Selected by the closest mix of population, density, median home value, and average annual high.

Marietta, GA

Population, housing, work, and travel data for this Census place.

Population: 63,574
Median home: $448,500

Smyrna, GA

Population, housing, work, and travel data for this Census place.

Population: 57,513
Median home: $449,500

West Sacramento, CA

Population, housing, work, and travel data for this Census place.

Population: 56,216
Median home: $525,800

Keep exploring

Compare Wake Forest with Marietta →