Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Rolesville earns an A+, ranked 1st of 286 in North Carolina. It is healthier than 96% of U.S. towns, the median household earns $150K, and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 90% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in cost of living. Rolesville’s median household income is $150,000, against $69,000 in North Carolina’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Among 290 North Carolina towns, just 3 have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Rolesville. William A. Jeffreys House and Rogers-Whitaker-Haywood House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Rolesville beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Rolesville Charter Academy | K–8 | 716 |
| Sanford Creek Elementary | PK–5 | 599 |
| Rolesville Elementary | PK–5 | 538 |
3,786 counted in 2010 and 9,475 in 2020; an estimated 12,839 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 32.9% since 2020, after 150.3% 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 Rolesville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
![General store at crossroad. [Rolesville, Wake County, North Carolina]](https://images.townratings.com/story/12321/7cdc474f693fa11549eb-l.jpg)
Census counts: 115 in 1880, 9,475 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1939 and 3 maps from 1967 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rolesville. Close and well known come first.
16 mi Stadium & arenaLenovo Center
16 mi Stadium & arenaCarter–Finley Stadium
33 mi Stadium & arenaKenan Memorial Stadium
19 mi Stadium & arenaWakeMed Soccer Park
14 mi MuseumNorth Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
15 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 Rolesville, 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 Rolesville.
Rolesville has less tooth loss than most of North Carolina, has household incomes well above the North Carolina norm and sees little violent crime.
Its widest gap with North Carolina is tooth loss: 6.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 13.9% statewide. Against the 2,774 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rolesville’s, it is healthier than 81%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
8.9% of Rolesville adults report frequent physical distress. Rolesville beats the North Carolina average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 12% of Rolesville adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Rolesville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 24% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Rolesville | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.4% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.7% | 15.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Wake County Schools. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Rolesville High, with 2,321 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolesville MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 889 | B |
| Rolesville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,321 | B |
| Rolesville Charter AcademyTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 716 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
4.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Millbridge Nature Park, at 61 acres. The trail density in Rolesville is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Rolesville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Millbridge Nature Park | — | 61 |
| 2. Main Street Park | — | 38 |
| 3. Rolesville Community School Park | — | 21 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Violent crime is rare: 10 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
Rolesville’s property crime rate is 3.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Rolesville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median property tax bill is $4,273, against $1,896 across North Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Rolesville home is worth about $492,000, down 1.2% in a year, 48% above the North Carolina typical home. 93% of households own their home in Rolesville.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here grew from 855 in 2013 to 1,689. 27.9% of workers work from home, against 16.3% across North Carolina.
Most working residents leave Rolesville for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Rolesville has added 834 jobs, to 1,689 in 2023. The top destinations are Raleigh (36%), Durham (10%) and Wake Forest (7%).
| Rolesville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Rolesville since 2016.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Rolesville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 30° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
7 within 15 miles of the center of Rolesville
About 7 of every 100 Rolesville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
Where Rolesville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in North Carolina, United States
Rolesville is a town in northeastern Wake County, North Carolina, United States, a suburb of the capital city of Raleigh. It is the second oldest town in Wake County. The population was 9,475 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Rolesville.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolesville | #1 | A+ | B− | A | A− | A+ |
| Wake Forest | #24 | A− | C | B− | A− | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Rolesville grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #1 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and A− for schools.
That is 4.9 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 B−.
