Wake Forest, North Carolina

Wake Forest, North Carolina
Town
White Street
Seal
Location in Wake County and the state of North Carolina.
Coordinates: 35°57′24″N 78°31′29″W / 35.95667°N 78.52472°W / 35.95667; -78.52472
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Wake, Franklin
Incorporated	1880
Named for	The large wooded areas of North Wake County[1]
Government
• Mayor	Vivian A. Jones (R)
Area [2]
• Total	19.67 sq mi (50.95 km2)
• Land	19.52 sq mi (50.55 km2)
• Water	0.15 sq mi (0.40 km2)
Elevation [3]	295 ft (90 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	54,741
• Density	2,438.83/sq mi (941.62/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EST)
ZIP Codes	27587–27588
Area code(s)	919, 984
FIPS code	37-70540[4]
GNIS feature ID	2406816[3]
Website	www.wakeforestnc.gov

Wake Forest is a town in Franklin and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina; located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601, up from 30,117 in 2010.^[5] It is part of the Raleigh metropolitan area. Wake Forest was the original home of Wake Forest University for 122 years before it moved to Winston-Salem in 1956.