Accolades

The following is a list of recognitions Raleigh has received throughout the years.

You can also find more about what makes Raleigh such a great place to live, work and especially play, in the Local's Guide curated by the City and Visit Raleigh.

2022

Raleigh ranks 10th among 415 cities as best place for college students to live - WalletHub, December

Raleigh Water named Best Tasting Water in the 2022 North Carolina AWWA competition.

Raleigh ranks No. 1 as best place for veterans to call home - WalletHub, November

Raleigh is the No. 2 spot in the U.S. to be a remote worker - Triangle Business Journal, November

Raleigh is the 5th Best City as a Gen Z Hotspot - Commercial Cafe, August

The Raleigh metro is the 8th most attractive MSA for millennials across the U.S. - Triangle Business Journal, July

Raleigh one of Top 15 Best-Run Cities in America - WalletHub, June

Raleigh in Top 10 Best Cities for Senior Citizens - Age in Place, April, July

Raleigh among Top 3 Hottest Job Markets in America according to Wall Street Journal and Moody's Analysis - Triangle Business Journal

Raleigh ranked #1 as Best City for Working Women - ApartmentList, March

Raleigh in Top 10 for Home Appreciation among Nation's Largest Cities - Triangle Business Journal, February

In ranking all State Capitals, Raleigh ranked: 

• #2 as Safest,
• #4 for Economic Well-being,
• #6 for Quality of Education and Health  - WalletHub, January 

2021

2021’s Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving, and Raleigh comes in as the fifth-best city - WalletHub, November

Raleigh is the Tenth Most Popular City in the Nation for People Moving to a New Metro Area, according to the latest migration data from the U.S. Census Bureau - IndyWeek, October

Raleigh is 4th Best Large Metros for Families with Children - LendingTree, October

Raleigh # 1 as the Most Driver-friendly Place in the U.S. - WalletHub, September

Raleigh and Durham collectively rank #2 Best Place to Live - U.S. News & World Report, July

Raleigh ranked as the 11th best-run city in America - WalletHub, June 

Raleigh tops list of best places to retire early - Triangle Business Journal, May

Raleigh makes list of best cities to start a career - WalletHub, May

Raleigh earned the "Leading the Way Award" for being ranked in the top 10% of local governments in the U.S. with regard to resident satisfaction with government services and customer service - ETC Institute, April

Raleigh ranks 7th best city for STEM workers - WalletHub, February 

Raleigh’s economy is the 5th best-performing in the United States - Milken Institute, February

Raleigh ranks 3rd in Best State Capitals - WalletHub, January 

Raleigh ranks 1st on a list of places that provide the best opportunities for shared living arrangements, earning it the distinction of being named “roommate capital” of the country - StorageCafé, January

Raleigh ranks 3rd in Happiest Cities in America poll - Men's Health, January

Raleigh ranks 3rd in U.S. for Cheap Cities Seeing Relocation Boom amid COVID-19 Pandemic - 24/7 Wall Street, January

2020

Raleigh-Durham ranks 5th in the nation for the life sciences industry - CBRE

Raleigh ranks among the Best Tech Towns - CompTIA

Raleigh named one of the Safest Cities in America - WalletHub

Raleigh ranks among Most Affordable Cities for Early Retirees - SmartAsset

Raleigh ranks among Best Places to Retire - Forbes

Raleigh ranks 15th Most Pet-Friendly City - WalletHub

Raleigh ranks in top 10 Most Recession-Resistant Cities - SmartAsset

Raleigh named one of the best state capitals to call home - WalletHub

Raleigh ranks in 10 Best Cities in the U.S. to Move to Right Now - Curbed

Raleigh ranks second on Numbeo’s Quality of Life Index for 2020 - Numbeo

Raleigh one of The Best Places to Raise a Family on a Budget - The Motley Fool

Raleigh ranks among Top 10 Metros for Millennials Who Want to Relocate - Commercial Cafe

Raleigh ranks as Third Best City for Millennials to Relocate - INDYWeek

Raleigh ranks among Top 10 Best Cities to Work from Home - SmartAsset

Raleigh ranks #2 Best City to Drive in the U.S. - WalletHub

Raleigh listed as #10 Top Hottest Zip Code in the United States - Realtor.com

Raleigh named #10 Top Tech Talent Markets in North America 2020 -  CBRE

Raleigh is the #1 Metro for GDP Leaders (Mid-sized Metros) - Business Facilities

Raleigh named the #5 Metro in STEM Job Growth Index - STEMdex -

Raleigh ranked the #3 City for Millennials to Work Remotely - WhistleOut

Raleigh ranked as Top 15 Most Educated Cities in the U.S. (Raleigh, NC #12; Durham-Chapel Hill, NC #4) - WalletHub

2019

Raleigh is the 2019 Best City to Drive In - wallethub.com, September

Raleigh ranks 2019's 11th Best Big Cities to Live In - wallethub.com, July

Raleigh ranks 2nd in 2019 Top 100 Best Places to Live - livability.com, May

Raleigh ranks 3rd Best in Quality of Life in the World - NUMBEO, March

Raleigh is 2nd in Most Family-Friendly Cities poll - Homes.com, February

2018

Raleigh 4th Fastest City for Internet Speeds in U.S. - WRAL Tech Wire, December

Raleigh is #2 in The 10 Best Big Cities to Live in Right Now - Money, November

Raleigh is home to NCSU, a Top School for Entrepreneurship Studies for 2019 - The Princeton Review, November

Raleigh is one of Eight of America’s Most Digitally Inclusive Tech Cities - Brookings, November

Raleigh ranks #2 on latest Forbes List for Businesses and Careers - News and Observer, November

Raleigh Takes the Top Spot On a List of the 100 "Best Cities to Drive in" - WalletHub, July 

Raleigh came in First in a Survey of 2,000 GeekWire.com Readers as a Place Tech Industry Staffers Would Like to Live - Geekwire poll, July

Raleigh listed in Top 10 Best Cities for New Grads Starting Out - MarketWatch, May

Raleigh ranks 3rd Best in Quality of Life in the World - NUMBEO, March

Raleigh Among the Best Places to Go in April - Town & Country Magazine, February

Raleigh is No. 6 in a List of Top 20 State Capitals to Live In - WalletHub’s study, February

Raleigh is 1 of 10 Cities Primed for Economic Growth & Opportunity in 2018 - CardRates.com, February

Raleigh Ranks #5 for Best Metros for Dating 2018 - ApartmentList, February

Raleigh & Durham, North Carolina is Ranked #13 in Best Places to Live - U.S. News & World Report, February

Raleigh & Durham, North Carolina is Ranked #17 in Best Places to Retire - U.S. News & World Report, February

Raleigh Listed in the 10 Coolest Places to Eat in 2018 - Forbes, January

2017

Raleigh Ranked as #2 Best Performing City in 2017 - December, 2017

Raleigh Ranks First in "Best Tasting Water in the State Contest - Annual NC AWWA-WEA Conference, November 2017

Raleigh in Top 10 Best Cities in America to Live - 24/7 Wall St., November 2017

Raleigh is #2 Most Educated City in the Country - Forbes, October 2017

Raleigh in the Top 5 Cities for Jobs in the U.S. - Glassdoor, September 2017

Raleigh is #3 Sportiest City - Men's Health, September 2017

Raleigh is 1 of 10 Best Cities For Startups You’ll Want to Be Based In - Hubstaff, August 2017

Raleigh is Among Best Budget Destinations in America, Part III: The South - Budget Travel, July 2017

Raleigh is #10 Among 100 Best Cities to Drive In, WalletHub July 2017

Raleigh is #6 Among 100 Most Adventurous Cities in America - Men's Health, June 2017

MIT's International Center for Aviation calls Raleigh's RDU International Airport Best Connected Medium Sized Airport - News & Observer, May 2017

Raleigh is #14 Fastest Growing Metro in U.S. - U.S. Census Bureau, March 2017

Raleigh Ranked #8 in Best Cities for Veteran Homebuyers to Live - Veterans United Network, March 2017

Raleigh ranks 2nd Best in Quality of Life in the World - NUMBEO, March 2017

Raleigh Ties for #7 in Best Places to Work for Veterans - Veterans United Network, March 2017

Carolina Publishing Associates Names North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh #1 Among 2016 Top N.C. Tourist Attractions - WRAL, March 2017

Carolina Publishing Associates Names North Carolina Museum of Art #9 Among 2016 Top N.C. Tourist Attractions - WRAL, March 2017

Carolina Publishing Associates Names Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh #6 Among 2016 Top N.C. Tourist Attractions  - WRAL, March 2017

Carolina Publishing Associates Names North Carolina Museum of History #8 Among 2016 Top N.C. Tourist Attractions - WRAL, March 2017

Raleigh's Second Empire Restaurant & Tavern Receives 2017 Four-Diamond Restaurant Award - AAA, January 2017

Raleigh's Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel Receives 2017 Four-Diamond Hotel Award - AAA, January 2017

Raleigh is #22 Among Most Caring Cities in America - WalletHub, January 2017

Raleigh Among Top 10 Boomtowns of 2016 - SmartAsset, January 2017

Raleigh Among 12 Top Destinations of 2017 - Forbes Travel Guide, January 2017

2016 and Older

Visit our City of Raleigh Accolades Archives