Employment Indicators for Wake County, North Carolina (2024)

Total Employed

628,413
Civilian 16+

Private For-Profit

74.5 %
Largest Sector

Self-Employed

4.5%
Entrepreneurship

Government

12.8%
Public Sector

Wake County, North Carolina Workforce by Sector & Gender

Employment sector breakdown by gender in
Figure 1: Male vs Female participation in employment sectors (2024).

Wake County, North Carolina Employment Sector Breakdown

SectorTotal WorkersPercentage
Private For-Profit468,35974.5%
Government80,52312.8%
Self-Employed28,5294.5%
Private Non-Profit50,4008.0%

Wake County, North Carolina Gender Ratio Analysis by Employment Sector (2024)

SectorMale:Female Ratio
Private For-Profit1.28:1
Government0.69:1
Self-Employed1.08:1

Wake County, North Carolina Employment Trends (2010–2024)

Long-term employment trends in

Wake County, North Carolina Historical Employment Sector Trends

YearPrivateGovSelf-EmpNon-Profit
202474.5%12.8%4.5%8.0%
202374.6%12.8%4.7%7.8%
202274.7%12.9%4.5%7.7%
202174.6%13.4%4.5%7.4%
202074.6%13.4%4.4%7.4%
201974.1%14.0%4.8%7.0%
201873.9%14.2%4.7%7.0%
201773.6%14.5%4.8%6.9%
201673.3%14.6%4.8%7.2%
201573.1%15.1%4.8%7.0%
201473.0%15.3%4.6%7.1%
201372.9%15.4%4.6%7.1%
201273.3%15.3%4.5%6.8%
201172.9%15.6%4.7%6.7%
201073.1%15.4%4.9%6.6%

Employment Sector FAQs for Wake County, North Carolina

The largest employment sector in Wake County, North Carolina is Private For-Profit, which employs 74.5% of the local workforce.

There are approximately 628,413 civilian workers aged 16 and over currently employed in Wake County, North Carolina.

In the private for-profit sector, the male-to-female ratio is 1.28:1. This metric helps highlight gender participation across the most prominent industry classes.

Since 2010, the total number of workers in Wake County, North Carolina has shown an increase, moving from 439,524 to 628,413 according to Census Bureau records.