Study: Raleigh is 2nd fastest-growing metro

RALEIGH – The Raleigh metropolitan area grew the second fastest of any similar-sized region in the United States between 2016 and 2021, according to a new analysis.

A report by the Inspection Support Network ranked the region, which includes Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties, as the second fastest growing area in the country in terms of percentage population growth.

And while many new residents in the region came from the nearby Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the region saw an 11.1% percentage change in net population over the five-year period, according to the report.

According to the analysis, the region grew by 144,557 people. And Durham-Chapel Hill experienced a population growth rate of 5.8% over the same period, according to the analysis, which ranks it 26th among statistical metropolitan areas of similar size, with most new residents coming from the triangle in the Raleigh-Cary MSA.

Report: The Triangle economy is sizzling and is the 4th fastest growing metro in the US

That could keep housing and labor markets hot

“We expect Raleigh, the Triangle, to outperform the nation,” said Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of real estate research at the National Association of REALTORS, in an interview with WRAL TechWire earlier this year. “That’s because the area remains one of the most popular destinations for people to move to.”

According to Evangelou, the most recently available U.S. Postal Service change of address data showed that the percentage of people moving into the region was about 54%, showing that more people are moving into the region than are leaving.

In other words, if 100 people move in Raleigh, 54 people have moved into the area while 46 have moved away.

There could also be more growth.

“Raleigh is one of the fastest growing areas in the top 25 metro areas,” “As more people move into the area, we expect demand to remain relatively strong.”

That’s because Johnston County is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, WRAL TechWire previously reported.

And the regional economy continues to grow, too, as a recent analysis by the Kenan Institute ranked the Triangle fourth in the nation.

Johnston County Express: NC’s fastest growing county continues to add jobs, people and infrastructure

Other Southeastern subways are also adding people

Some of the migration is due to changing working conditions, the increase in remote work, starting families or retirements, which are the reasons for people moving.

For millennial movers, however, one finding is clear, a report released earlier this year: cities matter more than states.

When it comes to net population growth, Austin, Texas ranked first overall with population growth of 14.1% during the period, according to the report.

The Charlotte Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked sixth in terms of overall population growth, growing at a growth rate of 8.1%, the analysis found.

Here are the major metropolitan areas growing the fastest, according to analysis using data from the United States Census Bureau: