Raleigh is the state capital of North Carolina and the center of Wake County in North Carolina. It is North Carolina's second-most populated city, the Southeast's tenth-most populous city, the United States' 41st-most populous city, and the Research Triangle metro area's biggest city. Raleigh is nicknamed as the "City of Oaks" because of the many oak trees that border the streets in the downtown area. The land area of the city is 147.6 square miles. In 2020, the US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 474,069 people. It is one of the country's fastest-growing cities.
The city's location was chosen in 1788, and it was set off from a tract of woodland in 1792, shortly after the American Revolution, when North Carolina, like many other founding states, shifted its capital westward from the coast. The city was once known as Wake Courthouse before being renamed after Sir Walter Raleigh. The first capital, built in 1794, burnt down in 1831, and was replaced by the current one, built in 1840. It is an amazing example of Greek Revival architecture that sits in the centre of a vast plaza. Various state and historic buildings and churches surround Capitol Square. Raleigh was a Confederate headquarters during the American Civil War until April 13, 1865, when Union soldiers under William Tecumseh Sherman captured the city without opposition.
Financial services, electrical, medical, electronic, and telecommunications equipment, clothes and apparel, food manufacturing, paper goods, and medicines are all part of Raleigh's industrial base. Raleigh is a key component of North Carolina's Research Triangle, which is one of the country's biggest and most successful research parks, as well as a key hub for high-tech and biotech research, as well as advanced textile production. The city serves as a significant retail shipping point for eastern North Carolina as well as a food wholesale distribution center.
