page_title: Raleigh, North Carolina
section_title: 21st century
hierarchical_section_title: Raleigh, North Carolina / History / 21st century
caption_attribution_description: English: Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh NC
context_page_description: Raleigh is the capital of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. Raleigh is the second-largest city in the state, after Charlotte. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees, which line the streets in the heart of the city. The city covers a land area of 142.8 square miles. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population as 474,069 as of July 1, 2019. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. The city of Raleigh is named after Walter Raleigh, who established the lost Roanoke Colony in present-day Dare County.
  Raleigh is home to North Carolina State University and is part of Research Triangle Park, together with Durham and Chapel Hill. The "Triangle" nickname originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located in Durham and Wake counties, among the three cities and their universities. The Research Triangle region encompasses the U.S. Census Bureau's Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 2,037,430 in 2013. The Raleigh metropolitan statistical area had an estimated population of 1,214,516 in 2013.
context_section_description: In the first decade of the 21st century, Raleigh was featured prominently in a number of "Top 10 Lists", including those by Forbes, MSNBC and Money magazine, due to its quality of life and favorable business climate.
  In 2001, the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium complex was expanded with the addition of the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Meymandi Concert Hall, Fletcher Opera Theater, Kennedy Theatre, Betty Ray McCain Gallery and Lichtin Plaza.
  Fayetteville Street reopened to vehicular traffic in 2006. A variety of downtown building projects began around this time including the 34-story RBC Bank Tower, multiple condominium projects and several new restaurants. Additional skyscrapers are in the proposal/planning phase.
  In 2006, the city's NHL franchise, the Carolina Hurricanes, won the Stanley Cup, North Carolina's first and only professional sports championship.
  With the opening of parts of I-540 from 2005 to 2007, a new 70-mile (110 km) loop around Wake County, traffic congestion eased somewhat in the North Raleigh area. Completion of the entire loop is expected to take another 15 years.
  In 2008, the city's Fayetteville Street Historic District joined the National Register of Historic Places.
  In September 2010, Raleigh hosted the inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival.
  In January 2011, Raleigh hosted the National Hockey League All-Star Game.
  In April 2011, a devastating EF-3 tornado hit Raleigh, and many other tornadoes touched down in the state (ultimately the largest, but not the strongest outbreak to ever hit the state), killing 24 people. The tornado tracked northeast through parts of Downtown, East Central Raleigh and Northeast Raleigh and produced $115 million in damages in Wake County. There were 4 fatalities in the city.
  In September 2015 Holy Trinity Anglican Church was opened; the first church to be built in downtown Raleigh since 1958.
  On July 26, 2017 the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh dedicated its new cathedral, Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, the fifth-largest in the United States.
caption: Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in 2018
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