Pay and cost of living in Wake County, NC
Across the 23 occupations we cover in Wake County, NC, the middle median salary is $44,460 a year. Pay runs from $28,220 for Cooks, Fast Food up to $132,770 for Software Developers, a spread of $104,550. Wages come from the Raleigh-Cary, NC survey area.
A one-bedroom apartment in Wake County, NC has a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,552 a month and a two-bedroom $1,689. Rent, food, home energy and gasoline for one adult add up to $25,670 a year. After federal, FICA and state income taxes, the average occupation here takes home $43,903 a year, and 20 of the 23 occupations listed here (87%) earn enough take-home pay to cover the four basics.
Open any occupation below for its full payslip, the tax breakdown, the rent comparison and a plain-English explanation of what is left after the basics. Every figure uses the same method, so results are comparable from one job and one county to the next.
Housing, taxes and commute in Wake County, NC
The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Wake County, NC, set beside the North Carolina and national medians.
Median household income in Wake County, NC is $105,768, 46% above the North Carolina median of $72,388 and $80,734 nationally. A year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent ($18,624) equals 17.6% of that income. The median of the occupation medians listed here, $44,460, is 58% below household income, which is expected because a household can hold more than one earner.
Homeowners in Wake County, NC pay a median of $3,260 a year in real estate taxes, 72% above the North Carolina median of $1,896. With a median home value of $461,300, 60% above the North Carolina median of $288,900, the ratio of the two medians is 0.71% a year.
Renters in Wake County, NC pay a median gross rent of $1,623 a month in the Census survey, 32% above the North Carolina median of $1,228. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent used for the budgets on this site is $1,552; the Census figure covers rental units of every size.
Workers in Wake County, NC who travel to a workplace spend an average of 25.1 minutes each way, in line with the North Carolina average of 25.1. 29.1% of workers work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally.