Raleigh, North Carolina demographics

Raleigh, NC demographics: median age 34.7; 54.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Raleigh city, North Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 3755000. The survey estimates a population of 481,031 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Raleigh is 34.7 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.4 years. There are 203,443 households (±1,758). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	34.7 ±0.4	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 481,031
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	95,457 ±2,736	19.8% ±0.6 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	147,922 ±3,121	30.8% ±0.6 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	180,571 ±3,535	37.5% ±0.7 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	57,081 ±1,885	11.9% ±0.4 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 481,031
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	233,229 ±2,266	48.5% ±0.5 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	247,802 ±2,277	51.5% ±0.5 pp	51.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 481,031
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	253,839 ±3,661	52.8% ±0.8 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	127,808 ±3,439	26.6% ±0.7 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,462 ±456	0.3% ±0.1 pp	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	24,900 ±2,055	5.2% ±0.4 pp	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	82 ±55 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	27,715 ±2,707	5.8% ±0.6 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	45,225 ±3,125	9.4% ±0.6 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 481,031
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	420,529 ±3,270	87.4% ±0.7 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	60,502 ±3,267	12.6% ±0.7 pp	11.3%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 203,443
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	75,972 ±1,801	37.3% ±0.8 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	8,067 ±937	4.0% ±0.5 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	24,214 ±1,514	11.9% ±0.7 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	72,166 ±2,049	35.5% ±1.0 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	23,024 ±1,296	11.3% ±0.6 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 203,443
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	53,419 ±1,482	26.3% ±0.7 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	150,024 ±2,017	73.7% ±0.8 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 203,443
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	72,166 ±2,049	35.5% ±1.0 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	68,817 ±2,263	33.8% ±1.1 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	28,808 ±1,587	14.2% ±0.8 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	22,331 ±1,366	11.0% ±0.7 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	8,224 ±783	4.0% ±0.4 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	2,184 ±396	1.1% ±0.2 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	913 ±235	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.9%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 481,031
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	414,496 ±3,819	86.2% ±0.8 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	66,535 ±3,750	13.8% ±0.8 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 453,507
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	367,846 ±4,295	81.1% ±0.9 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	44,846 ±2,930	9.9% ±0.6 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	3,693 ±917	0.8% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	1,440 ±565	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	2,442 ±489	0.5% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	8,556 ±1,304	1.9% ±0.3 pp	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	1,212 ±511	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	2,739 ±551	0.6% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	3,776 ±1,444	0.8% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,696 ±557	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	3,426 ±677	0.8% ±0.1 pp	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	5,587 ±1,147	1.2% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	6,248 ±1,529	1.4% ±0.3 pp	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 327,592
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	24,264 ±1,903	7.4% ±0.6 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	51,652 ±2,752	15.8% ±0.8 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	51,086 ±2,328	15.6% ±0.7 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	23,747 ±1,630	7.2% ±0.5 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	107,576 ±2,673	32.8% ±0.8 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	69,267 ±2,393	21.1% ±0.7 pp	13.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 475,753
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	386,889 ±3,418	81.3% ±0.7 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	46,894 ±3,210	9.9% ±0.7 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	20,084 ±1,745	4.2% ±0.4 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	16,720 ±1,621	3.5% ±0.3 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	5,166 ±993	1.1% ±0.2 pp	0.6%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

9.3% of Raleigh residents (±0.5 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 94.7% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Raleigh	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.3% ±0.5 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	94.7% ±0.6 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	4.7% ±0.4 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Raleigh . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Raleigh housing and cost context or return to the city profile.