Raleigh, NCResearch Triangle's tech-and-university anchor, built on decades of steady in-migration
Sources: FHFA House Price Index (ATNHPIUS39580Q), U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey and Population Estimates, BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 2BR Fair Market Rent from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. SunBeltPulse is independent and not affiliated with any of these agencies.
Sourced, dated figures for Raleigh — cite freely.
Side-by-side stats, charts & AI analysis
Raleigh — quarterly, Q3 2016 – Q2 2026 · 40 quarters
FHFA House Price Index for Raleigh moved from 181.9 in 2016-Q3 to 367.2 in 2026-Q2 across 40 quarters of data.
| Quarter | Raleigh-Cary |
|---|---|
| 2016-Q3 | 181.9 |
| 2016-Q4 | 183.1 |
| 2017-Q1 | 186.8 |
| 2017-Q2 | 192.5 |
| 2017-Q3 | 194.9 |
| 2017-Q4 | 194.9 |
| 2018-Q1 | 198.2 |
| 2018-Q2 | 203.4 |
| 2018-Q3 | 206.7 |
| 2018-Q4 | 207.3 |
| 2019-Q1 | 212.0 |
| 2019-Q2 | 214.4 |
| 2019-Q3 | 216.6 |
| 2019-Q4 | 218.7 |
| 2020-Q1 | 221.7 |
| 2020-Q2 | 223.8 |
| 2020-Q3 | 227.6 |
| 2020-Q4 | 231.9 |
| 2021-Q1 | 236.2 |
| 2021-Q2 | 253.4 |
| 2021-Q3 | 272.3 |
| 2021-Q4 | 287.7 |
| 2022-Q1 | 304.5 |
| 2022-Q2 | 331.4 |
| 2022-Q3 | 338.9 |
| 2022-Q4 | 329.5 |
| 2023-Q1 | 330.8 |
| 2023-Q2 | 343.7 |
| 2023-Q3 | 343.5 |
| 2023-Q4 | 345.5 |
| 2024-Q1 | 349.6 |
| 2024-Q2 | 356.6 |
| 2024-Q3 | 358.4 |
| 2024-Q4 | 359.1 |
| 2025-Q1 | 364.2 |
| 2025-Q2 | 363.2 |
| 2025-Q3 | 365.5 |
| 2025-Q4 | 363.1 |
| 2026-Q1 | 367.5 |
| 2026-Q2 | 367.2 |
Raleigh — new private housing units authorized, monthly, Oct 2024 – Sep 2026 · 24 readings
Monthly building permits authorized in Raleigh over 24 months (Oct 2024 – Sep 2026). Range: 868 to 2,416. Latest reading: 964.
| Month | Permits authorized |
|---|---|
| Oct 24 | 1,454 |
| Nov 24 | 879 |
| Dec 24 | 893 |
| Jan 25 | 1,067 |
| Feb 25 | 1,731 |
| Mar 25 | 1,779 |
| Apr 25 | 1,513 |
| May 25 | 1,686 |
| Jun 25 | 1,348 |
| Jul 25 | 1,853 |
| Aug 25 | 2,006 |
| Sep 25 | 1,190 |
| Oct 25 | 1,159 |
| Nov 25 | 868 |
| Dec 25 | 1,490 |
| Jan 26 | 1,583 |
| Feb 26 | 1,158 |
| Mar 26 | 1,743 |
| Apr 26 | 2,416 |
| May 26 | 1,582 |
| Jun 26 | 1,970 |
| Jul 26 | 1,538 |
| Aug 26 | 1,403 |
| Sep 26 | 964 |
Raleigh — BLS LAUS, monthly, Sep 2024 – Sep 2026 · 24 readings
Unemployment rate in Raleigh, Sep 2024 – Sep 2026 · 24 monthly readings. Range: 2.7% to 3.6%. Latest reading: 2.7%.
| Month | Unemployment rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Sep 24 | 2.9% |
| Oct 24 | 2.9% |
| Nov 24 | 3.1% |
| Dec 24 | 2.9% |
| Jan 25 | 3.3% |
| Feb 25 | 3.2% |
| Mar 25 | 3.2% |
| Apr 25 | 2.9% |
| May 25 | 3.2% |
| Jun 25 | 3.4% |
| Jul 25 | 3.4% |
| Aug 25 | 3.6% |
| Sep 25 | 3.2% |
| Nov 25 | 3.3% |
| Dec 25 | 2.9% |
| Jan 26 | 3.5% |
| Feb 26 | 3.3% |
| Mar 26 | 3.0% |
| Apr 26 | 3.0% |
| May 26 | 3.0% |
| Jun 26 | 3.1% |
| Jul 26 | 3.2% |
| Aug 26 | 3.1% |
| Sep 26 | 2.7% |
Latest figures: FHFA HPI +1.1% YoY, -0.1% QoQ (Q2 2026); unemployment 2.7% (Sep 2026); population +2.36% YoY (2025). Pandemic run-up on the same index: +52.9% from Q1 2020 to its Q3 2022 peak, then -2.8% to Q4 2022.
Raleigh's housing market is supported by one of the most educated workforces in the Sun Belt, with NC State in the metro, and Research Triangle Park, Duke and UNC a short drive away, anchoring decades of professional in-migration. Since the pandemic, build-out along the I-540 and US-64 corridors has added supply at the metro's edges. Its price history is steadier than Austin's: its pandemic-era run-up on the FHFA index was smaller, and the brief dip that followed in late 2022 was a fraction of the drawdown Austin went through by the end of 2023 — which has made Raleigh a frequent pick for cautious relocators.
Figures from FHFA House Price Index (ATNHPIUS39580Q), U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits and Population Estimates, and BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), plus HUD Fair Market Rents, refreshed with each release. The analysis is editorial, dated above, and names any third-party source it cites.
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City of Oaks
The City of Oaks
Total jobs
790K
BLS CES · curated Aug 2026
Unemployment
2.7%
BLS LAUS · Sep 2026
Job growth YoY
+2.6%
BLS CES · curated Aug 2026
Median HH income
$102K
Census ACS 2024, metro area
Share of total nonfarm employment
Metro-area headcount estimates
State of North Carolina
GovernmentDuke University Health System
HealthcareWake County Public Schools
EducationUNC Health
HealthcareWakeMed
HealthcareIBM
TechNC State University
EducationSAS Institute
TechCisco Systems
TechFidelity Investments
FinanceThe Research Triangle: biotech, pharma, and legacy tech driving the highest-educated workforce in the South — strong hiring if your resume matches.
If you're moving to Raleigh-Cary, expect the most degree-heavy metro in the Sun Belt. NC State anchors the city, Duke and UNC pull talent from 30 miles away, and the combined Triangle produces an unusually deep tech and biotech labour pool. Government (state capital plus RTP contractors) adds a reliable floor. Healthcare hiring is dominated by the three academic systems — Duke, UNC, WakeMed — which rival the universities themselves as employers. Median household income at $102K is the highest on this list.
Target biotech and pharma manufacturing (Fujifilm Diosynth, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly's Concord plant), software (IBM, Cisco, SAS), and clinical research. These sectors pay meaningfully above the metro median and hire across skill bands, from technicians to PhDs. The catch for movers: housing has tightened faster than Charlotte or Atlanta since 2021, and the inner-beltline isn't affordable anymore. Your wage-to-cost math only works if you land in the right sector — which, happily, is the easier part here than in most metros.
Timing: North Carolina is becoming the largest US biologics-manufacturing cluster outside the Bay Area — the state booked nearly $4B in life-sciences investment in 2025 alone. Fujifilm's 1,400-job Holly Springs complex is ramping, Genentech doubled its Holly Springs commitment to $2B in January 2026, and Lilly's Concord expansion tops $3B. Two cautions: Apple's RTP campus has been paused since 2024, and Novo Nordisk trimmed Clayton manufacturing roles in late 2025 even as its third plant advances. For movers in pharma, biotech, or software, the Triangle's 2–5 year pipeline is arguably still the strongest in the region — but time your move to a specific employer's ramp, not a generic calendar.
Recent corporate moves
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies
ExpansionExpanded its Holly Springs mRNA and biologics complex to a cumulative $3.2B investment, projecting roughly 1,400 jobs when fully operational.
Eli Lilly
ExpansionAnnounced further expansion of its Concord manufacturing facility bringing total investment past $3B and adding roughly 600 jobs.
Apple
RelocationPaused its planned $552M RTP campus, asking the state to push the timeline back by up to four years; roughly 600 Triangle hires since 2021 remain, with 3,000 jobs still pledged if the project proceeds.
Genentech
ExpansionMore than doubled its planned Holly Springs manufacturing investment to $2B, lifting the site's headcount target past 500 ahead of a 2029 opening.
Novo Nordisk
LayoffsCut manufacturing and quality roles at its Clayton plants as part of a 9,000-job global reduction, even as its $4.1B third Clayton facility moves ahead.
Cisco
LayoffsCut several hundred jobs at its RTP campus as part of a 7 percent global workforce reduction tied to a refocus on AI and security.
Source: NOAA NCEI, retrieved Oct 2026
Days ≥ 100°F
2
Extreme-heat days per year
Days ≥ 90°F
52
Hot days per year
Days ≤ 32°F
65
Freezing days per year
Annual precip
46.1"
118 rainy days/year
Raleigh — 1991-2020 normals · Raleigh-Durham Intl Airport
Raleigh monthly climate normals. Average highs range from 52°F to 91°F (hottest: Jul at 91°F). Average lows range from 32°F to 70°F (coldest: Jan at 32°F). Total annual precipitation: 46.1".
| Month | Avg high (°F) | Avg low (°F) | Precipitation (") |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 32 | 3.43 |
| Feb | 56 | 34 | 2.78 |
| Mar | 63 | 40 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 73 | 49 | 3.53 |
| May | 80 | 58 | 3.38 |
| Jun | 87 | 66 | 3.89 |
| Jul | 91 | 70 | 5.02 |
| Aug | 89 | 69 | 4.71 |
| Sep | 83 | 63 | 5.15 |
| Oct | 73 | 50 | 3.37 |
| Nov | 63 | 40 | 3.32 |
| Dec | 55 | 34 | 3.39 |
Cfa · Humid subtropical
Hazard levels are editorial ratings aggregated from FEMA, USDA wildfire risk, NOAA storm tracks, and NWS hail climatology. Not insurance or investment advice.
Moderate Piedmont climate with four seasons — and a Triangle-sized history of tornadoes, ice, and inland hurricane flooding.
Raleigh's climate mirrors Charlotte's with slightly more moisture and marginally cooler nights — January highs near 52°F, July highs near 91°F, and 46 inches of annual rainfall. Spring and fall are the standout seasons, with long runs of low humidity and mild temperatures. Summers are hot and sticky but rarely brutal by Deep South standards. Winters bring occasional snowstorms and, more often, ice — the Triangle's signature winter hazard, which can paralyze the region for days and take down the pine and hardwood canopy that defines many neighborhoods.
Movers should know: the Triangle experienced one of the worst ice storms in North Carolina history in December 2002 (Raleigh saw the most freezing rain since 1948), and a record tornado outbreak on April 16, 2011 (30 tornadoes in one day across NC, a state single-day record). Duke Energy and Dominion restoration after ice events can take a week in outlying areas. Hurricane remnants — Fran (1996), Floyd (1999), Florence (2018) — routinely cause inland flooding even though Raleigh is 130 miles from the coast. Flood insurance decisions belong at the parcel level.
The Triangle's tech-driven growth has pushed new subdivisions into forested areas that amplify ice-storm damage and creek-flooding risk. Insurance is still relatively affordable compared to coastal or Florida markets. Climate projections suggest warmer summers, wetter tropical events, and marginally fewer hard freezes — which will reduce some hazards (pipe bursts) while worsening others (tropical rainfall). On balance, Raleigh's weather remains comparatively mild, but not without teeth.
Historical edge scenarios
April 16 tornado outbreak — state record
On April 16, 2011, 30 confirmed tornadoes tore through North Carolina — the most in a single day in state history. A long-track supercell crossed downtown Raleigh; the outbreak killed 24 and injured 300+ statewide, with total NC damage near $328 million.
December 2002 ice storm
December 4–5, 2002, brought up to an inch of freezing rain to the Triangle, the worst Raleigh ice event since 1948. Up to 1.8 million NC customers lost power; restoration took until December 14 in some areas. Statewide, 24 people died, many from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hurricane Florence flooding
Florence (September 2018) dropped 10+ inches of rain across parts of the Triangle, with 35.93 inches near Elizabethtown setting an NC tropical-cyclone record. 74,000+ structures flooded statewide; Durham and Chapel Hill saw inland freshwater flooding well north of the coast.
Neighbourhoods
Where people actually live — from historic bungalows to new-build cul-de-sacs.
Raleigh's best neighbourhoods benefit from a city that grew methodically rather than explosively, which means the historic cores held their character longer than comparable Sun Belt cities. Five Points and Hayes Barton are the inner-ring prestige addresses — 1920s–40s bungalows on wooded lots. Cameron Village (its shopping centre renamed the Village District in 2021) and the Oberlin Road corridor offer a quieter version of urban walkability: mid-century housing, independent retail, and a short drive or bike ride to downtown. Glenwood South and the Warehouse District serve the condo-and-lock-and-leave buyer who wants downtown nightlife and Raleigh's restaurant scene without suburban trade-offs.
Cary is a frequent landing spot for Research Triangle Park employees, combining a walkable downtown-Cary commercial core with new construction across its western growth edges. Apex and Holly Springs to the southwest draw the same buyers further out.
The value plays watch list: Garner, just south of the city, for some of the lower detached-home prices inside Wake County; Knightdale on the US-64 corridor east of the city for newer construction; and the subdivisions around Brier Creek in northwest Raleigh, built from about 2000 next to RDU and the Durham line, for tech commuters who want a short drive to RTP and the airport.
As of Q2 2026, home prices in Raleigh rose 1.1% over the past year and slipped 0.1% in the most recent quarter. Prices remain above year-ago levels, though the recent quarterly dip points to softening momentum. Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (ATNHPIUS39580Q), retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Raleigh metro is $1,689 per month (FY2027). HUD publishes Fair Market Rents annually as the benchmark for housing voucher payment standards — they reflect typical asking rents for modest, standard-quality units in the area. Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Raleigh is growing strongly — population rose 2.36% year-over-year; the 2025 Census estimate puts the metro at 1,595,720 residents. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The Raleigh metro unemployment rate was 2.7% in September 2026 — a tight reading, below the national 4.0% (BLS, September 2026). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; national rate: BLS Current Population Survey, retrieved from FRED.
Builders pulled permits for roughly 964 new private housing units in Raleigh in September 2026, running sharply lower than a year earlier (-19.0%). Source: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
About 10.2 cents of every dollar a first-year owner of the median Raleigh home pays (principal, interest, property tax and insurance) becomes equity, at the 7.18% 30-year rate of the week of Nov 5, 2026 with 10% down. Interest takes the largest share, and property tax plus insurance come to 1.50 times the first year's principal. Sources: Census ACS 2024 median home value and real-estate taxes; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®; Insurify 2026 premium estimate. See Raleigh against all 12 metros in our mortgage guide
Tracking a move beyond Raleigh? Every metro profile carries the same FHFA, Census, BLS, and HUD data, refreshed with each release.
Data sources: FHFA House Price Index (ATNHPIUS39580Q), U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey and Population Estimates, BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 2BR Fair Market Rent from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. SunBeltPulse is independent and not affiliated with any of these agencies. Statistics represent metro-area figures and are updated monthly. Not financial or investment advice.