Raleigh, North Carolina
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Raleigh (pronounced rah-lee) is the capital of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the “City of Oaks” for its many oak trees. It is the second most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte. The estimated population on July 1, 2008 was 380,173. Since 2006, Raleigh's municipal population has surpassed those of Minneapolis, Tampa, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, and it is the 15th fastest growing city in the United States. Its population has grown by more than 100,000 since 2000, an increase of nearly 40%.

Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill make up the three historically primary cities of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. The regional nickname of "The Triangle" originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The Research Triangle region encompasses the U.S. Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area (CSA) of Raleigh-Durham-Cary in the central Piedmont region of North Carolina. The estimated population of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary CSA was 1,635,974 as of July 1, 2007, with the Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) portion estimated at 1,047,629 residents.

Most of Raleigh is located within Wake County, with a very small portion extending into Durham County[6]. The towns of Cary, Garner, Wake Forest, Apex, Holly Springs, Clayton, and Knightdale are some of Raleigh's primary nearby suburbs.