It's no secret that Raleigh is climbing the ladder, and these national publications in charge of rankings, lists, and competitions seem to agree. Check out all the national recognition + headlines Raleigh and the Tar Heel State have made in 2024 from large-scale publications, proving we’re No. 1.

Business

Raleigh scored the No. 2 spot on the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities list — the City of Oaks has landed in the top 20 of these rankings for 12 years in a row.
Business site Quartz named Raleigh No. 3 on its list of US cities where jobs are growing fastest.
College ranking and information site Niche named the US’s top colleges, and five NC colleges are top tier. Duke University, Davidson College, UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University, and NC State University all landed in the top 100, each with an A or A+ ranking.

Real Estate

Whether you’re buying or selling a home, these publications are putting Raleigh on the map.

Raleigh and Cary jointly ranked as the No. 1 metro for first-time homebuyers in the US by ConsumerAffairs.
Travel site Far & Wide named Raleigh as one of the safest large cities in the US.

Culture

Along with national rankings, we also have a few trending stories to celebrate.

WalletHub named NC as the No. 15 best place for single folks.
NC ranked No. 6 on WalletHub’s list of the best states to drive in.
The 2024 James Beard Award semifinalists were announced with Ajja, Crawford and Son, Preeti Waas, and Bittersweet all earning recognition.
Savannah Miller, the chef de cuisine of M Tempura in Durham, will compete on Bravo’s “Top Chef” Season 21. Manuel Barella, culinary director for the soon-to-open Jaguar Bolera, will also be a competitor on the show which premieres on March 20.
As of Friday, Feb. 9, Tamasha Modern Indian was trending in Raleigh on Google... probably due to its highly anticipated weekend grand opening.