Fast downtown Raleigh facts

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Downtown Raleigh | Photo by Curtis Adams via Pexels

Raleigh is growing, but what exactly does that mean? The Downtown Raleigh Alliance published its Quarterly Market Report and it’s full of facts we don’t want you to miss.

Downtown by the numbers

  • More than 12,000 people live downtown.
  • The median age is 32.9 + 40% of the population is between 20-34 years old.
  • The average household income for residents is $85,871.
  • Approximately 60% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
  • There are 48,000 downtown employees.

Development

  • There are 20+ developments under construction or planning to break ground this year.
  • There are already 12 significant projects under construction (like Seaboard Station + 400H ).
  • The demand to live downtown is high — as of the first quarter, downtown has a 95.8% residential occupancy. That helps to explain why there are 1,456 new residential units under construction (like The Acorn + Park City South ).
  • So far, eight new storefront businesses have opened or expanded in 2022 with 18 more businesses coming soon. We’re especially excited about The Rainbow Luncheonette , 321 Coffee + The Crunkleton .

Just for fun

  • Downtown has seen a 59% increase in food and beverage sales this year compared to the same time last year.
  • Pedestrian traffic has increased by 63%.
  • There are 160+ downtown restaurants and bars with outdoor seating. Check out some of our favorites .
  • There are nine craft breweries + distilleries downtown.

More resources

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Anne — originally from Annapolis, Maryland and based in Roanoke, Virginia — joined 6AM City as a City Editor for RALtoday in January 2022. She is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and has contributed to publications including Garden & Gun and Washingtonian. When Anne’s not writing, she’s hiking through the Blue Ridge Mountains, practicing hot yoga, or finding her new favorite foodie spot.