Raleigh passes 500,000 people and ‘will have to keep building,’ mayor reports
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- Raleigh reaches 516,807 residents, ranking 40th among U.S. cities.
- City added 100,000 since 2009 and expects 250,000 more in next 20 years.
- $101.5M housing and transportation bonds likely on ballot; $200M+ City Hall underway.
Mayor Janet Cowell announced Wednesday that Raleigh has officially topped 500,000 people, placing it 40th on the list of largest U.S. cities — just between Kansas City and Miami.
In her annual State of the City address, Cowell said Raleigh has added 100,000 residents since 2009 and can expect another 250,000 in the next two decades.
In the past year, she noted, the city granted 4,000 building permits as growth continues to skyrocket.
“Not only have we built a lot,” she said, “we’re going to have to keep building.”
Raleigh’s population, now counted at 516,807, includes only those within the city limits. Much like Miami, which it has now passed, the city includes a far-larger metro area of 1.2 million residents when all of Wake County is included.
That growth will likely place a pair of $101.5 million bonds on the ballot this fall, one aimed at boosting the city’s affordable housing and another adding transportation projects.
By this time next year, Cowell said, she may give her annual address inside a new $200-million-plus City Hall, now more than half-complete.
Raleigh poet laureate
Cowell’s speech used poetry as its theme, tying it to all aspects of Raleigh’s growth and including poetry readings from all members of the City Council.
And as a final sign of growth, Cowell announced the city will take applications for its own poet laureate.
“We do a lot of things in the city that are concrete and you think will last forever,” she said, “but what really endures is the people.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 8:02 AM.