Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (/ˈrɑːli/; RAH-lee)[8] is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeast, the 41st-most populous city in the U.S., and the largest city of the Research Triangle metro area. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees, which line the streets in the heart of the city.[9] The city covers a land area of 148.54 square miles (384.7 km2).[4] The U.S. Census Bureau counted the city's population as 467,665 at the 2020 census.[10] It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.[11][12] The city of Raleigh is named after Sir Walter Raleigh, who established the now-lost Roanoke Colony in present-day Dare County.
"Raleigh" redirects here. For the bicycle company, see Raleigh Bicycle Company. For other uses, see Raleigh (disambiguation).
Raleigh is home to North Carolina State University (NC State or NCSU) and is part of the Research Triangle together with Durham (home of Duke University and North Carolina Central University) and Chapel Hill (home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). The name of the Research Triangle (often shortened to "The Triangle") originated after the 1959 creation of Research Triangle Park (RTP), located in Durham and Wake counties, among the three cities and universities. The Triangle encompasses the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023. The Raleigh-Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 1,509,231 in 2023.[6]
Most of Raleigh is located within Wake County, with a small portion extending into Durham County.[13] The towns of Apex, Cary, Clayton, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell, and Zebulon are some of Raleigh's primary nearby suburbs and satellite towns.
Raleigh is an early example in the United States of a planned city.[14] Following the American Revolutionary War when the U.S. gained independence, the area was chosen as the site of the state capital in 1788 and incorporated in 1792 as such. The city was originally laid out in a grid pattern with the North Carolina State Capitol at the center, in Union Square. During the American Civil War, the city was spared from any significant battle. It fell to the Union in the closing days of the war and struggled with the economic hardships in the postwar period, related to the reconstitution of labor markets, over-reliance on agriculture, and the social unrest of the Reconstruction Era. The establishment of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in 1959 helped create tens of thousands of jobs in the fields of science and technology. By the early 21st century, Raleigh had become one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.
traverses the southern part of the city, connecting Raleigh to Durham and Chapel Hill toward the west, and coastal Wilmington, North Carolina to the southeast.[257]
I-40
/ NC 540 Toll when complete, will be a full outer beltway around Raleigh. The northern and western quadrants are complete and open to traffic, while the remaining two quadrants are currently under construction.[259]
I-540
designated September 5, 2017, follows the former route of Interstate 495. It begins at the I-40/I-440 interchange southeast of Raleigh and runs east, meeting I-540 and currently terminating at Rolesville Road. It is entirely concurrent with US 64. When the route is completed, it will link Raleigh to the Norfolk, Virginia area.[260]
I-87
, England, United Kingdom
Kingston upon Hull
, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Rostock
Raleigh has several sister cities:[274]
