North Carolina
Piedmont
Wake

Research Triangle

Sprawling in the heart of 's Piedmont, the Research Triangle is a metro area of about two million people. The ever-expanding Triangle is unique as a metro area, since it is centered around three cities instead of just one.
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Photo: Specious, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Raleigh and Durham.

Photo: Jmalljmall, Public domain.
The capital of and the largest city of the Research Triangle, is the primary political and economic driver of the metro area. Indeed, business and politics are the main draws to , which lacks the more trendy feel or active arts scene of or to the west.

Photo: Specious, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Of the three cities that make up 's Research Triangle, has traditionally been the grittier, more working-class one. A city of about 283,500 residents in 2020, 's early wealth was built on tobacco and textiles, with a vibrant African-American community that once made the city a center for Black culture.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Scenic and regularly decked out in "Carolina blue", is a lovely college town in that makes up the westernmost point of the Research Triangle.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Cary and Henderson.

Photo: Yassie, CC BY 2.5.
is a town in the Research Triangle of . It is primarily a fast-growing suburb of , the state capital, but has developed some economic gravity of its own.

Photo: KimWrenn, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a city in and the county seat of , , United States. The population was 15,060 at the 2020 census.

Photo: Bigbird78, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a city of about 30,000 people in the countryside, in between the , Research Triangle, and . is known for its large brick production as well as local pottery, and offers outdoor activities and historic districts.

Photo: Fvman, Public domain.
is a city of about 33,000 people in . Originally the two separate communities of Fuquay Springs and Varina, which merged upon incorporation in 1909. The town is often referred to simply as "Fuquay", pronounced.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is a town in , United States. At its southern border, encompasses the community of Friendship. In 1994, the downtown area was designated a historic district, and the train depot, built in 1867, is designated a Wake County landmark.

Photo: Scott Thompson, CC BY 3.0.
is a town in Franklin and Wake Counties of , immediately to the north of the state capital . With a population just over 41,000 that primarily commutes to work in the Research Triangle Park, the town is the 9th fastest growing municipality in the state of North Carolina.

Photo: Gerry D, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is a town in , United States, near the intersection of Interstates 95 and 40. celebrates Mule Days on the fourth Saturday of September, a festival that attracts over 60,000 people each year.

Photo: Mx. Granger, CC0.
is an incredibly historic town in , important to the history of the state. Easily accessible from nearby and , it has a cute historic downtown and a "small town" feel.

Photo: Becker1999, CC BY 2.0.
is a town of 4,300 people near the Haw River in the Research Triangle in . The county seat of Chatham County, has a big cat sanctuary as well as a historic district centered around the 19th-century courthouse.

is a small town in Johnston County, with a population of approximately 1,200 people.

Research Triangle

  • Type: Region with 2,000,000 residents
  • Description: geographic region in North Carolina, United States
  • Also known as: “Chapel Hill area”, “Durham area”, “North Carolina Triangle”, “Raleigh area”, “Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area”, “Research Park”, “Research Triangle Park”, “The Triangle”, “Triangle”, and “Triangle, North Carolina”
  • Category: locality
  • Location: , , , , ,
  • View on Open­Street­Map
Latitude of center
35.8753° or 35° 52′ 31″ north
Longitude of center
-78.7751° or 78° 46′ 31″ west
Population
2,000,000
Elevation
305 feet (93 metres)
United Nations Location Code
US YTP
Open­Street­Map ID
node 2379521221
Open­Street­Map feature
place=­region
Geo­Names ID
4487679
Wiki­data ID
Q767860
This page is based on OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
We’d love your help improving our open data sources. Thank you for contributing.

Satellite Map

Discover Research Triangle from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Chinese to Urdu—“Research Triangle” goes by many names.
  • Chinese: “三角”
  • Chinese: “研究三角区”
  • Chinese: “研究三角區”
  • Chinese: “研究三角地带”
  • Chinese: “科研三角洲”
  • Esperanto: “Esplortriangulo”
  • Finnish: “Research Triangle”
  • French: “Raleigh-Durham”
  • German: “Research Triangle”
  • German: “The Triangle”
  • German: “Triangle”
  • Hebrew: “משולש המחקר”
  • Hungarian: “Research Triangle”
  • Italian: “Triangle”
  • Japanese: “リサーチ・トライアングル”
  • Persian: “مثلث تحقیقاتی”
  • Slovenian: “metropolitansko območje Raleigh-Cary”
  • Slovenian: “Research Triangle”
  • Spanish: “Area metropolitana de Raleigh-Cary”
  • Spanish: “Área metropolitana de Raleigh-Cary”
  • Urdu: “ریسرچ ٹرائی اینگل”

Piedmont: Must-Visit Destinations

Delve into Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Uptown Charlotte.

Explore These Curated Destinations

Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors and available under the Open Database License". Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Research Triangle”. Photo: Specious, CC BY-SA 3.0.