Wake County, North Carolina

Wake County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2020, 1,129,410 people lived there.^[1] Wake County has more people than any other county in North Carolina. The county seat is Raleigh, which is also the state capital. From 2005 to 2006, Wake County was the 9th fastest growing county in the United States.^[2]

Wake County
County
Raleigh skyline Wake County Courthouse North Carolina State Capitol
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°47′23″N 78°39′02″W
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1771
Named for	Margaret Wake
Seat	Raleigh
Largest community	Raleigh
Area
• Total	857.02 sq mi (2,219.7 km2)
• Land	834.59 sq mi (2,161.6 km2)
• Water	22.43 sq mi (58.1 km2)  2.62%
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,129,410
• Density	1,353.25/sq mi (522.49/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	2nd, 13th
Website	www.wake.gov

The North Carolina State Capital Building is in Wake County

Cities and Towns

These cities and towns are in Wake County:

• Apex
• Cary
• Fuquay-Varina
• Garner
• Holly Springs
• Knightdale
• Morrisville
• Raleigh
• Brentwood
• Wake Forest
• Wendell
• Zebulon

Connected Counties

These counties are connected to Wake County:

• Granville County, North Carolina - north
• Franklin County, North Carolina - northeast
• Nash County, North Carolina - east
• Johnston County, North Carolina - southeast
• Harnett County, North Carolina - southwest
• Chatham County, North Carolina - west
• Durham County, North Carolina - northwest

Education

Colleges and Universities

Wake County has seven colleges and universities. They are: Meredith College, North Carolina State University, Peace College, Saint Augustine's College, Shaw University, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Wake Technical Community College.

Public and Private Schools

The Wake County Public School System runs the public schools in Wake County. The school system has over 155,000 students.^[3] There are 27 high schools, 33 middle schools, 104 elementary schools and 8 specialized schools. There are also nine charter schools and 31 private schools in the county.

Transportation

Raleigh-Durham International Airport is in Wake County. Interstate 40 is a major interstate and part of it goes through the county. Several local bus services have routes throughout Wake County. Wake County also has two Amtrak stations, one in Raleigh and one in Cary.

Parks and Recreation

State parks

Wake County has three state parks: Falls Lake State Recreation Area, William B. Umstead State Park, and the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area. Falls Lake Park is in northern Wake County and contains the 12,000 acre Falls Lake and 26,000 acres of woods.^[4] Umstead Park is between Raleigh and Cary. It has 5,579 acres of woods.^[5] Part of Jordan Lake Park, is in Wake County near Apex, and it has the 13,940 acre Jordan Lake and 46,768 acres of woods. This park has bald eagles.^[6]

Jordan Lake

County parks and recreation centers

There are 152 city parks, public swimming pools and public tennis courts in Wake County. There are 53 community centers.^[7] Fifteen miles of the American Tobacco Trail is in the county. People can use the trail to walk, jog, and ride bikes or horses.

Hospitals

Wake County has three main hospitals, Rex Hospital, WakeMed, and Duke Raleigh Hospital. WakeMed also has many smaller hospitals throughout the county^[8]