Here's why some people choose to move to Wake County
Wake County is one of the fastest growing in the country.
Outside of the state, the Census shows that people who are moving here are mostly from Cobb County, Georgia; Kings County, New York; Fairfax County, Virginia and New York. And there might not be a complete randomness to this – instead, it could be showing the success of a campaign deployed by Wake County Economic Development.
"We really tell the story of the region and tell the story about opportunity and cost of living, advantages - everything we enjoy about the triangle and want to tell everyone about," said Michael Haley, the executive director for county's Economic Development.
For several years now they've been placing digital ads in 20 targeted metro areas. These places vary, some they consider "high cost" like New York or Los Angeles and some that are similar in size and industry like Austin. From there, the ads go to a website which has a number of interactive tools like A Day in the Life or a cost of living calculator.
"For us, our role is helping create that story," Haley said.
Between July 2022 and 2023, about 148,000 people learned about our region through this. The people aren't just clicking on it and then going on with their lives, though. Engagement date released to WRAL News from the county shows people are spending more than five minutes exploring the area via this page, which is an eternity in web browsing time.
"We are seeing people who are wanting to better understand it and I think for us that’s a metric of success," said Haley.
"Now that I think about it, I think I saw some of those ads and banners and things when I was scrolling through Instagram," said Sneha Vats, who lives in Cary.
While Vats isn’t sure they were the Wake County ones she saw, It wouldn’t be too surprising since she and her family moved here from New York City this past August. The young family have ties to the Triangle but, with NYC-based jobs, she and her husband didn’t think they’d move back at this point in their lives. At first, the area wasn't at the top of the list. After initially searching in New Jersey, Vats, her husband and three young children decided that moving someplace else would be a better fit. So the research began with them mostly comparing how much house they could get for similar prices.
"Coming from New York City it was we have a backyard that the kids can have space; we have better weather year round; we have family nearby; we both went to NC State," Vats said.
She says there are things she misses about New York.
"I will say that the one thing I personally miss the most is the convenience of New York City, being able to get my kids in a stroller and just walk places," said Vats who is from New Jersey originally but moved to Cary when she was a child. "It's a transition but there's a lot of benefit to being here too. There's open area, my kids can go outside and play. We don't have to go to a public park 10 blocks away when it's cold."
She says, while familiar, she notices how different the Triangle is now, too.
"This is a booming area," she said. "There's a lot of potential. There's a lot of new jobs. It is kind of revamped itself in that sense and brought a younger audience."
The audience is key. Haley says building on our current population and drawing in new people sets up the region for success.
"We do have good, smart growth," he said. "The way we’re going to support our local businesses best is making sure they have the right talent, the talent pipeline they need.
