Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 23,144, settled in 1908. Public schools that outperform most of North Carolina.
Trash day: look up yoursKnightdale grades B overall, 66th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $103K and its schools outperform 75% of the state's. On the other side, its police reported 46 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 80% of U.S. towns. 9.5% of residents are 65 or older in Knightdale, against 18% in North Carolina’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Knightdale has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Walnut Hill Cotton Gin and Beaver Dam. Knightdale is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 68% of U.S. towns.
Where Knightdale beats most towns.
11,401 counted in 2010 and 19,435 in 2020; an estimated 23,144 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 18.6% since 2020, after 70.5% 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 Knightdale is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 243 in 1930, 19,435 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1939 and 4 maps from 1967 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Knightdale. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Stadium & arenaLenovo Center
13 mi Stadium & arenaCarter–Finley Stadium
32 mi Stadium & arenaKenan Memorial Stadium
15 mi Stadium & arenaWakeMed Soccer Park
8 mi MuseumNorth Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
12 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 · North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences: Jmturner, Public domain · North Carolina Museum of Art: Justin Doub, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Knightdale, 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 Knightdale.
Knightdale has home values still below their peak, owes part of its health edge to its incomes and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings.
Reported crimes fell from 604 to 557 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Knightdale’s property crime rate is 22.7 per 1,000 residents. Knightdale reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 80% report less. Within North Carolina, it does better than 51% of towns.
| Knightdale | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.7 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Wake County Schools. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neuse River MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 877 | C− |
| Knightdale HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,695 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. Since 1999, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Knightdale.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 5,224 in 2013 to 7,072.
Most working residents leave Knightdale for work: only 4% work in town. 5.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Knightdale. Since 2013, Knightdale has added 1,848 jobs, to 7,072 in 2023.
| Knightdale | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $103,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.3% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.9% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Knightdale has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Knightdale is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,095 U.S. towns with household incomes like Knightdale’s, it is less healthy than 57%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Knightdale beats the North Carolina average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 11% of Knightdale adults report frequent physical distress.
| Knightdale | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 33% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 36% |
| What stands out | Knightdale | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 10.7% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical value, about $361K, is 8% below its August 2022 peak.
The typical Knightdale home is worth about $361,000, down 2% in a year, 9% above the North Carolina typical home.
| Knightdale | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,674 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 67% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.4 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Knightdale Station Park, at 75 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Knightdale Station Park | 0.1 mi | 75 |
| 2. Knightdale Community Park | — | 16 |
| 3. Knightdale Environmental Park | 0.1 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
8 within 15 miles of the center of Knightdale
About 7 of every 100 Knightdale residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
Where Knightdale’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Knightdale on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Knightdale is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Knightdale has a population of 19,435, up from 11,401 in 2010. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town's population to be 17,843, as of July 1, 2019. Knightdale's population grew 10.4% from 2010 to 2013, making it the second fastest-growing community in the Research Triangle region for that time period. Named for Henry Haywood Knight, a local Wake County landowner who donated land to found a railroad depot, the town was incorporated in 1927. By the 1960s, the economic center of town migrated from the area around the rail depot to U.S. Highway 64, which ran north of downtown Knightdale. Since 1990, t…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Knightdale.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knightdale | #66 | B | C+ | C− | A− | B |
| Raleigh | #80 | B− | C | D | A− | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Knightdale grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #66 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 51% of towns.
That is 3.6 years of the area's median household income ($100,103 across the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including Joe Lewis and Cora Ann Pair Thomas.
