Wake Forest Northeast Community Plan - December 2021

TABLE: 1.D.1

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Population Trends and Projections Northeast Community Study and Surrounding Areas, NC (2000-2025)

Change ‘00 - ‘10 Change ‘10 - ‘20 Change ‘20 - ‘25 Actual Chg. Ann. % Chg. Actual Chg. Ann. % Chg. Actual Chg. Ann. % Chg. 418 3.3% 75 0.4% 119 1.4%

POPULATION

growth of 620,165 people at an annual rate of 4.1% during the same two decades. In comparison, the population in the Northeast Community study area grew by only 493 at an annual rate of 2.1% between 2000 and 2020. It has been growing at 3.3% annually between 2000 and 2010, and almost flattened at 0.4% per year since 2010, falling behind both the Town and the MSA. The study area experienced an actual change of 418 people between 2000 and 2010, and merely 75 people between 2010 and 2020. This suggests that the study area, which accounts for 3.8% of the Town’s population, has not fully shared the growth in either the Town of Wake Forest or in the MSA. Also, the population growth rates for the MSA, the Town, and the Northeast study area have all been trending downward from a peak in the 2000s. The three geographies are projected to further close their gaps in population gains and stabilize at growth rates between 1.4% and 2.4% per year between 2020 and 2025 (Figure 1.D.2, Table 1.D.1). Household Trends The average household size of 2.56 in the study area was smaller than the Town (2.85 persons) and the MSA at 2.59 persons in 2020. Further, the average household sizes in the Town and the MSA have been increasing, while the opposite is true in the study area, where the average household size has been declining since 2010 (Figure 1.D.3). This suggests that there are larger households in the Town of Wake Forest, whereas the study area is attracting smaller

Jurisdiction 2000 2010

2020

2025

Population Trends (2000-2025) The Town of Wake Forest has seen robust population growth by 9.0% and 5.3% per year between 2000 and 2010, and between 2010 and 2020 respectively, outperforming the MSA’s 4.2% and 2.5% annual gains during the same periods. The Town’s population stood at 46,437 in 2020, accounting for 3% of the MSA’s population of 1,417,213. The Town added 30,465 people between 2000 and 2020 at an annual rate of 10%, and the MSA saw an actual

1,259

1,677

1,752

1,871

Study Area

15,972 30,331 46,437 51,917 14,359 9.0% 16,106 5.3% 5,480 2.4% 797,048 1,130,490 1,417,213 1,573,657 333,442 4.2% 286,723 2.5% 156,444 2.2%

Wake Forest Raleigh-Cary MSA

Credit: ESRI and RKG Associates, Inc., 2021

FIGURE: 1.D.3

households and more single-person households. In general, the study area has proportionally more non-family households with unrelated persons than the Town (32.8% versus 25.1%) and a much higher percentage of households of one or two persons (58.3%) than the Town (49.7%). Most households in the study area are two-person family households with no 65+ persons (55.2%) and one-person households with no 65+ persons (15.2%).

FIGURE: 1.D.2

Credit: ESRI and RKG Associates, Inc., 2021

IMPLICATIONS OF FINDINGS Residents in the Northeast Community feel isolated from the rest of the Town of Wake Forest in terms of road connections to adjacent neighborhoods, access to shopping and services and economic opportunities as compared to the rest of the community. The site analysis confirmed that there are physical barriers that are isolating the community (e.g., railroad tracks along the western edge, limited road connections leading to the community, etc.). The lack of population growth is a threat to the long-term health of the community and new households are not being added to the community. The lack of newer housing choices is keeping homebuyers and families from considering the Northeast Community as a place to live. While new homes are being constructed in the hundreds just outside the study area boundaries, very little has occurred in the Northeast Community itself. The resident population is educated, has moderate household incomes, and is predominantly comprised of younger singles and senior households. For the Northeast Community to prosper, more opportunities for young families to move into the neighborhood are needed. That can be accomplished with more diverse housing choices, including the renovation of existing homes to modernize them. Also, the community wants to add amenities and community activities to celebrate the community and invite others to learn the history of the area. Steps should be taken to address these issues and make the Northeast Community more accessible to the larger Wake Forest community.

Credit: ESRI and RKG Associates, Inc., 2021

Chapter 1: Existing Conditions

Northeast Community Plan

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