A Capital City: Raleigh, N.C.
Raleigh, Cary, N.C. metropolitan area
By Janice Chamberlain -- Home Accents Today, 4/1/2006
Raleigh, the state capital, and part of North Carolina's Research Triangle, is home to North Carolina State University, with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Durham, N.C.-based Duke University both nearby. The Raleigh-Cary area ranks 7th out of 934 metro areas in the U.S. for college-degreed individuals and places 54th in terms of graduate degrees, according to New York-based Easy Analytic Software Inc. (EASI) statisticians.
Of those aged 25 and older living in Raleigh in 2005, 27% have a college degree, 12% hold a graduate degree and an additional 29% have earned some college credits. EASI statisticians predict this proportion will hold steady over the next five years.
The area is exploding, ranking 15th among its sister metro areas for population growth from 2000 to 2005 as estimated by EASI statisticians.
During the next five years, EASI forecasters predict the area will be the 16th fastest growing of the more than 900 metro areas in the U.S.
Raleigh's median age in 2005 was 33.2 years; Raleigh ranks 8th among the metros for people aged 35 to 44 years old and 11th for the 25-to-34 age group. This contrasts with a ranking of higher than 900 for those age 65 and older. By 2010, Raleigh's population is expected to exceed the one million mark, up more than 14% over 2005.
Household formation is also on the rise, burgeoning nearly 20% from 2000 to 2005. EASI statisticians predict a household growth rate of 17% over the next five years.
There are a lot of well-heeled North Carolinians in Raleigh. The median household income in 2005 was $56,350 and EASI projects it will soar 25% to $70,283 in 2010.
The jump in income is more than paralleled by EASI's projected growth in spending on home accents. In 2010, Raleigh residents are expected to spend $32.7 million on area rugs, up 46% from 2005 spending. Spending on other home accent products is also projected to rise, up 38% for wall decor, 36% for lamps and decorative pillows and throws, up 32%.
Raleigh denizens are spending their money on more than their education: 2005 home accents spending patterns in the area place it among the elite, with area rugs, lamps and wall decor all ranking in the top 100 metro areas for each product. Decorative pillows and throws ranked No. 193 of the 934 metro regions.
EASI's statisticians have identified the Raleigh metro area as one of the South's hottest market's for home accents. Over the next five years, the Raleigh market is expected to be one of five in the South to show the biggest increases in area rug, wall decor, decorative pillow and lamp sales. On the following pages Home Accents Today takes a look at four retailers in the Raleigh area who are doing a bang-up job reaching this burgeoning market.
| 2005 | 2010 | |
| median | $56,350 | $70,283 |
| under $25,000 | 19% | 15% |
| $25,000 to $34,999 | 11% | 8% |
| $35,000 to $49,999 | 15% | 13% |
| $50,000 to $74,999 | 21% | 19% |
| $75,000 or more | 34% | 46% |
| 2005 | 2010 | |
| Black | 19.0% | 20.6% |
| Asian | 2.7% | 3.1% |
| Other | 3.8% | 4.5% |
| Hispanic | 4.1% | 4.9% |
| White non-Hispanic | 71.5% | 68.1% |
| in millions of dollars | 2005 | 2010 | Change |
| area rugs | $22.3 | $32.7 | 46% |
| lamps | $24.8 | $33.7 | 36% |
| wall decor | $20.4 | $28.2 | 38% |
| decorative pillows, throws | $3.5 | $4.6 | 32% |
| bedroom linens | $24.3 | $34.4 | 42% |
| bathroom linens | $9.4 | $13.3 | 41% |
| kitchen & dining room linens | $3.3 | $4.4 | 35% |
| clocks | $1.7 | $2.4 | 38% |
| china & other dinnerware | $3.1 | $4.4 | 41% |
| flatware | $1.9 | $2.8 | 47% |
| glassware | $4.3 | $6.2 | 44% |
| silver serving pieces | $2.9 | $3.9 | 38% |
| other serving pieces | $0.7 | $1.0 | 49% |
