How Raleigh is run
Who runs Raleigh, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Raleigh's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Raleigh
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council of eight, including the mayor, sets policy, enacts ordinances, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Raleigh city staff
4,648 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 947, Fire 647, Raleigh Water 757, Parks, recreation and cultural resources 558. FY2026-27. City of Raleigh · Jul 1, 2026
North Carolina has no statewide public pay database, and we found no city-published list of pay by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Raleigh in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $150M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance of at least 17% of the next year's budget. Any amount above 17% goes to the council each year as excess capital reserves for one-time uses. The city meets this target. City of Raleigh · Oct 31, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property tax$333M · 51%
- Sales tax$136M · 21%
- Franchise tax$38.8M · 6%
- Transfers from other funds$37M · 6%
- Fees$35.9M · 6%
- Intergovernmental$21.9M · 3%
- Investment income$20M · 3%
- Fund balance and special reserve$12.1M · 2%
- Other (licenses, miscellaneous)$18M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$162M · 25%
- Infrastructure and public services (engineering, transportation, planning, housing)$114M · 17%
- Fire$101M · 15%
- Special appropriations (transfers to transit, capital and other funds, retiree benefits)$87.2M · 13%
- Parks, recreation and cultural resources$83.8M · 13%
- General government$82.5M · 13%
- Emergency communications (911)$18.4M · 3%
- Outside agencies$4.6M · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Raleigh homeowner pays outside special districts, about 41 cents goes to the city. North Carolina school districts do not levy their own tax; Wake County funds the schools. Downtown properties also pay a special district tax.
41¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Raleigh
- Wake County (also funds Wake County Public Schools)53.71 · 59%
- City of Raleigh37.2 · 41%
- Total (cents per $100 of value)90.91
FY2026-27 rates for a home in the City of Raleigh (Wake County). Wake County Tax Administration
See what a Raleigh house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Raleigh is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityRaleigh Police DepartmentCity of Raleigh · Oct 31, 2025
- FireThe cityRaleigh Fire DepartmentCity of Raleigh · Oct 31, 2025
- 911 dispatchThe cityRaleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center (city department)Handles calls for Raleigh and most of Wake CountyCity of Raleigh · Jul 1, 2026
- EMS / medical first responseThe cityRaleigh Fire Department (medical first responder)City of Raleigh · Jul 1, 2026
- Water and sewerThe cityRaleigh WaterCity of Raleigh · Jul 1, 2026
- Parks and greenwaysThe cityCity of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural ResourcesMaintains 120+ miles of greenway trailsCity of Raleigh · Jul 1, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | LincolntonNC | HendersonvilleNC | AshevilleNC | RaleighNC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 12,465 | 15,867 | 93,523 | 506,306 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $265,000 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $5,125 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,524 | $2,140 | $2,005 | $1,289 |
| Debt per resident | $74 | $6,745 | $2,957 | $3,401 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $667 | $1,127 | $821 | $518 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 13.6 | 20.4 | 14.8 | 9.2 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Raleigh publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Raleigh · Jul 1, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no city manager contract or pay document on the city website or its eScribe agenda portal. City of Raleigh
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Raleigh
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget describes how council pay is adjusted each year but states no dollar amount. City of Raleigh · Jul 1, 2026
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city-published pay list by position and no employee pay dataset on the city's open data site.
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $149.8 million on June 30, 2025, above the 17% policy. How much of the amount above the policy will go to one-time projects?
- Total debt was $1.72 billion on June 30, 2025. How much new borrowing is planned in the five-year capital program?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The city manager presents the proposed budget in May (May 19, 2026 this year), the council holds a public hearing in early June (June 2) and weekly June work sessions, and the FY2027 budget was adopted June 8, 2026. See who is running for council
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Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
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