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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.
2025
Raleigh is ranked in the Top 10 most educated cities in the U.S. - WalletHub / CBS17.com,
Raleigh is ranked No. 4 among six cities where Americans are relocating to, - GoBankingRates (News & Observer), June
Raleigh is #2 of Top 20 Innovation Hubs Across the South - Commercial Cafe, May
Raleigh is in the Top 25 Best Places for Retirees - Forbes, May
Raleigh is in the Top 10 Best Cities to Start a Business - WNCN, April
Raleigh's Dix Park is in the Top 10 Best City Parks for 2025 - USA Today 10 Best, April
Raleigh is 2nd Friendliest City in the U.S., cited as having southern charm with warm hellos - YUZU, Match Group’s social app via CBS-17, April
Raleigh is 3rd Happiest City based on variables spanning quality of life, personal finances, and well being - SmartAsset, March
Raleigh's Marbles Kids Museum is #6 best free children's museum - USA Today, February
Raleigh's North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is #3 best free museum - USA Today, February
Raleigh's North Carolina Museum of Art is #8 best free museum - USA Today, February
Raleigh ranks as the No. 3 Best State Capital to Live In - WalletHub, February
Milken Institute Taps Raleigh As Best-Performing Large Metro Area - Milken Institute, January
Raleigh ranks No. 4 for best cities for headquarters - Triangle Business Journal, January
Raleigh ranks No. 7 for fastest growing cities in the US - U-Haul Annual Growth Report, January
2024
Raleigh ranked No. 1 Most Livable City - Far & Wide, December
Raleigh-area among the Top five fastest growing areas for older Americans in 2020-2023 - Triangle Business Journal, December
Raleigh is #1 in driver-friendliness - WalletHub, October
Raleigh Offers the Best Quality of Life on the U.S. East Coast-Travel & Leisure, September
Raleigh named among Top 5 Fastest-growing Housing Markets - StorageCafe, August
Raleigh ranked No. 4 rental markets in the country for recent college graduates - Realtor.com, May
Raleigh and Durham, NC #3 best place to live - US News and World Report, April
Raleigh ranks #7 Best big cities to live in America - Stacker, February
Raleigh has the #2 Hottest Housing Marketing in U.S. - U.S. News and World Report, February
Raleigh is the #2 Best performing large city - Milken Institute, February
Raleigh is in Southern Living's Top 10 Best Cities in the South - Southern Living, March
Raleigh is in the Top Ten Tech Cities - Cloudwards, February
Raleigh is the 2nd Hottest Housing Market - US News & World Report, February
Raleigh is One of the Safest Large Cities in the U.S. for 2024 - Far & Wide, January
Raleigh Nationally Ranked as One of Best Cities for New Jobs - WalletHub, January
2023
Raleigh ranks the #5 Best City for Job Seekers in 2024 - Indeed, December
Raleigh Deemed the City with the Most Generous Space at Home - StorageCafe, December
Raleigh Water named Best Tasting Water in the 2023 North Carolina American Water Works Association (AWWA) competition, and third place in the International AWWA Conference.
Raleigh ranks as Highly Competitive Rental Market - RentCafe, December
Raleigh ranks as the Top Spot to Launch a Small Business - LendingTree, November
Raleigh's William B. Umstead State Park makes Yelp's list of the Top (20) Spots for Fall Foliage in the U.S. - News & Observer, October
Raleigh ranks in the top ten of 25 Most Neighborly Cities in America - Neighbor.com, October
Raleigh ranks in Top 10 Best Places to have a Pet in the Nation - The Herald, June
Raleigh’s Vehicle Fleet Ranked Number 1 in Nation - Government Fleet Expo, Government Fleet, May 3, 2023
Raleigh is the 2nd Best State Capital for Safety & More - WalletHub, February
Raleigh is the 2nd Most Climate-Resilient City - Architectural Digest, February
Raleigh is 8th Biggest Boomtown - LendingTree, February
Raleigh is #4 Best U.S. City for Work/Life Balance & Mental Health - CoworkingCafe Study, January
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 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