Race, Diversity, and Ethnicity in Wake County, NC

The map below shows majority race by area in Wake County, as self-identified on the US census. Darker shades indicate a larger racial majority in that neighborhood. This page also contains data and maps on Wake County racial diversity and diversity scores. Click here to scroll to diversity data.

Wake County, NC map of race and ethnicity
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White
Hispanic
Black
Asian
Multiple/Other
WhiteHispanicBlackAsianMultiple/Other
Majority race by area

The majority race in Wake County overall is white, making up 56.0% of residents. The next most-common racial group is black at 18.3%. There are more white people in the north areas of the county. People who identify as black are most likely to be living in the southeast places. The data below shows how many people identify themselves as each of the following races, which most Americans base on their family's national origin:

Race in Wake County

 
Self-Identified Race
Wake County, NC Population
White
56.0%
Hispanic
11.5%
Black
18.3%
Asian
9.0%
Native American
0.1%
Other
5.0%
   

Diversity and Diversity Scores for Wake County, NC

The map below shows diversity in Wake County. Areas in green are more diverse, while areas in red are much less diverse. Diversity, in this case, means a mixture of people with different race and ethnicity living close to one another. For example, all-black and all-white areas in the county would both be considered lacking diversity.

Wake County, NC map of race and ethnicity
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Wake County Diversity Score

62.9

More diverse than 95% of US counties

Wake County has a diversity score of 62.9: the chance, in percent, that two residents picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups, from ACS race counts. A place where everyone shares one group scores 0, and an even mix of the six groups in the chart above scores the maximum, 83.3. Wake County is much more diverse than other US counties, more diverse than 95% of them. Within Wake County's proper boundaries, the most diverse area is northwest Wake County, and the least diverse areas are in north Wake County.

Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-year estimates (race and Hispanic origin); proprietary data mapping and analysis. Special thanks to the University of Virginia.

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