Wake Forest

Population & Demographics

Wake Forest, NC

Wake Forest is home to 52,844 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 24,484 resident workers commute each day.

North CarolinaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
52,844
people
Population

52,844 residents

Median age 38.6 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Wake Forest population & demographics

Who lives in Wake Forest — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
52,844
Median age
38.6yrs
Median household income
$123,802
Median home value
$474,500
Median gross rent
$1,596/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
59.5%
Poverty rate
4.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Wake Forest

How Wake Forest breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White64.6%
Black19.5%
Hispanic or Latino9.0%
Two or more races3.6%
Asian2.9%
Some other race0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.0%

Race across Wake Forest

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Wake Forest.

Wake Forest at a glance
Employed Residents
24,484
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
11.8mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
9.6%
Share working within the area
Work from home
28.7%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Raleigh
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Wake Forest proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Wake Forest commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

41
Commute Score

41 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Wake Forest

24,484 commutes, one dot at a time

Wake Forest

Where 24,484 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Wake Forest, by worker count.

1Raleigh11.8 mi8,344
2Durham21.8 mi2,419
3Wake Forest0.0 mi2,356
4Cary21.5 mi1,278
5Charlotte140.5 mi999
6Morrisville20.4 mi534
7Garner19.5 mi350
8Greensboro73.5 mi293

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Wake Forest.

1Raleigh11.8 mi3,179
2Wake Forest0.0 mi2,356
3Durham21.8 mi652
4Cary21.5 mi423
5Rolesville3.7 mi390
6Charlotte140.5 mi257
7Knightdale12.0 mi167
8Apex26.1 mi151

Top industries

The sectors that employ Wake Forest’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
RTRetail Trade23.0%
AFAccommodation and Food Services17.1%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance12.3%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services9.1%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services6.7%
EDEducational Services6.2%
OSOther Services (except Public Administration)4.9%
COConstruction3.9%
PAPublic Administration3.0%
Connectivity

Internet options for Wake Forest

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

7 providers · 3 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps22%
5 Gbps22%
8 Gbps12%
See all internet providers in Wake Forest

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).