Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Holly Springs grades A− overall, 17th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household earns $136K and its public schools beat 75% of North Carolina towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $573K for a typical one and 5.7 times the Raleigh metro’s $100K median household income. 67% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Holly Springs, against 29% in North Carolina’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 18 of North Carolina’s 190 towns score higher on safety. Holly Springs has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Leslie-Alford-Mims House and Davis-Adcock Store.
Where Holly Springs beats most towns.
24,661 counted in 2010 and 41,239 in 2020; an estimated 50,288 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 21.9% since 2020, after 67.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Holly Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 218 in 1890, 41,239 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Holly Springs. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Stadium & arenaLenovo Center
12 mi Stadium & arenaCarter–Finley Stadium
21 mi Stadium & arenaKenan Memorial Stadium
11 mi Stadium & arenaWakeMed Soccer Park
21 mi Stadium & arenaDean Smith Center
14 mi MuseumNorth Carolina Museum of ArtLenovo Center: Edward T. Funkhouser, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carter–Finley Stadium: SMaloney, CC BY 3.0 · Kenan Memorial Stadium: Yeungb, CC BY 3.0 · WakeMed Soccer Park: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dean Smith Center: No machine-readable author provided. Snargle~commonswiki assumed (based on copyr, Public domain · North Carolina Museum of Art: Justin Doub, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Holly Springs, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Holly Springs.
Holly Springs fares better on crime within North Carolina than nationally, has less food insecurity than most of North Carolina and has household incomes well above the North Carolina norm.
The median property tax bill is $4,087, against $1,896 across North Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical rent in Holly Springs is $2,021 a month. Homes sold in Holly Springs spent a median 18 days on the market. The share of households in Holly Springs who live in a home they own: 81%.
| Holly Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,021 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Of its 13 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. Its public schools are run by the Wake County Schools. Also worth knowing: the 6 public schools in Holly Springs teach 5,411 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Springs Preparatory AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,258 | A |
| Holly Springs HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,018 | A |
| Holly Grove ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 889 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with North Carolina is food insecurity: 7.2% of its 27,709 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.2% statewide.
Against the North Carolina average, Holly Springs comes out ahead on 23 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1. Among 289 North Carolina towns, just 3 have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Holly Springs. Holly Springs: 30% of adults feel lonely.
| Holly Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.3% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 24% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Holly Springs | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.2% | 15.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.7% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 70.5% | 76.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
11 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Duke Energy: Harris Nuclear Plant, at 671 acres. For Holly Springs, the trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Holly Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.6% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sugg Farm at Bass Lake Park | 1 mi | 112 |
| 2. Duke Energy: Harris Nuclear Plant | 0.4 mi | 671 |
| 3. Bass Lake Park | 0.1 mi | 86 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here grew from 3,887 in 2013 to 11,718. 33.5% of workers work from home, against 16.3% across North Carolina.
The mean commuting time for Holly Springs comes to 29 minutes. Only 8% of working residents stay in Holly Springs for work; the rest commute out. Jobs in Holly Springs grew by 7,831 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 11,718. 34% of workers work remotely from home here.
| Holly Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 34% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $136,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.8% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 12.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 93% of North Carolina’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 535 to 404 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Holly Springs’ rate of reported violence is 0.8 per 1,000 residents. In Holly Springs, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 10.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Holly Springs | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 10.3 per 1,000 residents | 26 | 13.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.8 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
Holly Springs’ peak summer temperature comes in at 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Holly Springs’ natural-hazard score from FEMA stands at 38 of 100. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1996: 12. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 74% come from inland flooding and 7% from tornadoes. Federal aid has come to Holly Springs households in 6 declared disasters; the latest was in 2016.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Holly Springs
About 4 of every 100 Holly Springs residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
9.6% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
2 places in Holly Springs on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Holly Springs.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Holly Springs is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 41,239, a 67% increase from 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Holly Springs.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its A−; Cary (A) is closest.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holly Springs | #17 | A− | C− | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Apex | #5 | A | C | — | A− | A+ |
| Fuquay-Varina | #6 | A | C | A− | A− | A |
| Cary | #11 | A | C− | B | A− | A+ |
Apex reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Holly Springs with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Holly Springs grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #17 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. Holly Springs reports less crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns, a B+ Safety Grade: 39 violent and 496 property crimes in 2023.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
3 notable people were born here, including C. J. Leslie and Kiara Leslie.
