Raleigh Metro Area Counties
3 counties · 1.6 million people (2025) · 2,119 sq mi
The Raleigh metro area (officially the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area) has 3 counties in North Carolina, with 1,595,720 people in 2025. Wake County is the most populous.
The 3 counties of the Raleigh metro area
Sorted by population. 2 are central counties (the urban core); the others are outlying counties tied to it by commuting.
| County | County seat | Population 2025 | Change since 2020 | Land area (sq mi) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County | Raleigh | 1,257,235 | +11.3% | 835 | Central |
| Johnston County | Smithfield | 256,448 | +18.7% | 792 | Outlying |
| Franklin County | Louisburg | 82,037 | +19.5% | 492 | Central |
The metro area is part of the larger Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area.
Printable map
The PDF is a vector file for Letter paper; the PNG is 2400 pixels wide. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
County maps of North Carolina
Other metro areas
- Charlotte Metro Area Counties 11 counties
- Virginia Beach–Norfolk (Hampton Roads) Metro Area Counties 18 counties
- Greensboro–High Point Metro Area Counties 3 counties
- Winston-Salem Metro Area Counties 5 counties
- Durham–Chapel Hill Metro Area Counties 4 counties
- New York City Metro Area Counties 22 counties
- Los Angeles Metro Area Counties 2 counties
- Chicago Metro Area Counties 13 counties
- Dallas–Fort Worth Metro Area Counties 11 counties
- Houston Metro Area Counties 10 counties
- Atlanta Metro Area Counties 29 counties
- Washington, D.C. Metro Area Counties 23 counties
- Miami Metro Area Counties 3 counties
- Philadelphia Metro Area Counties 11 counties
- Phoenix Metro Area Counties 2 counties
- Boston Metro Area Counties 7 counties
- Inland Empire Metro Area Counties 2 counties
- San Francisco–Oakland Metro Area Counties 5 counties
- Detroit Metro Area Counties 6 counties
- Seattle Metro Area Counties 3 counties
- Minneapolis–St. Paul Metro Area Counties 15 counties
- Tampa Bay Metro Area Counties 4 counties
- Denver Metro Area Counties 10 counties
- Orlando Metro Area Counties 4 counties
Sources
- Metro area definition: U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Core Based Statistical Areas, July 2023 delineation (published by the Census Bureau).
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2025 cartographic boundary files. Population: Census Bureau estimates, Vintage 2025.