Apex () is a town in

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, United States. At its southern border, Apex encompasses the community of

Friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

. In 1994, the downtown area was designated a historic district, and the Apex train depot, built in 1867, is designated a Wake County landmark. The depot location marks the highest point on the old Chatham Railroad, hence the town's name. The town motto is "The Peak of Good Living". In the precolonial era, the town's area was inhabited by the

Tuscarora tribe The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'', "hemp gatherers" or "Shirt-Wearing People") are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government of the Iroquoian family, with members today in New York, USA, and Ontario, Canada. They ...

of Native Americans. In the late 19th century, a small community developed around the railroad station. The forests were cleared for farmland, much of which was dedicated to

tobacco farming The cultivation of tobacco usually takes place annually. The tobacco is germinated in cold frames or hotbeds and then transplanted to the field until it matures. It is grown in warm climates with rich, well-drained soil. About ''4.2 million'' hec ...

. Since Apex was near the state capital, it became a trading center. The railroad shipped products such as lumber, tar, and tobacco. The town was officially incorporated in 1873. By 1900 the town had a population of 349. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,780. The population boom occurred primarily in the late 1990s. The Research Triangle Park, established in the 1960s, created strong demand for technology workers. This also drove population growth. Apex is currently the eighteenth largest municipality in North Carolina.

Geography

The town is a suburb of both Raleigh and RTP. It is situated to the southwest of Raleigh with direct highway access via US 1. Apex is south of RTP with direct highway access via NC 540. Apex crests the watersheds of both the Neuse and Cape Fear rivers. Neighboring towns include

Cary Cary may refer to: Places ;United States * Cary, Illinois, part of the Chicago metropolitan area * Cary, Indiana, part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area * Cary, Miami County, Indiana * Cary, Maine * Cary, Mississippi * Cary, North Carolina ...

to the north and northeast, Holly Springs to the south, and Raleigh to the east and northeast.

History

The town of Apex was incorporated in 1873. According to the North Carolina History Project, the town was named for its location as the highest point on a portion of the Chatham Railroad which ultimately extends between Richmond, Virginia, and

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. According to a 1905 USGS publication on place names, the name refers to the highest point between

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

and the Deep River. Apex grew slowly through the succeeding decades, despite several devastating fires, including a 12 June 1911 conflagration that destroyed most of the downtown business district. The town center was rebuilt and stands to this day, now one of the most intact railroad towns in the state. At the heart of town stands the Apex Union Depot, originally a passenger station for the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

and later home to the locally supported Apex Community Library. The depot now houses the Apex Chamber of Commerce. Apex suffered mild setbacks during the

Depression-era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, but growth began again in earnest in the 1950s. The town's proximity to North Carolina's Research Triangle Park spurred additional residential development, yet the town managed to preserve its small-town character. During the 1990s, the town's population quadrupled to over 20,000, placing new demands upon Apex's infrastructure. Apex has continued to grow in recent years. A sizable shopping center was built at the intersection of

Highway 55 The following highways are numbered 55: International * European route E55 * Arab Mashreq route M55 Argentina * San Luis Provincial Route 55 Australia * Carnarvon Highway * Castlereagh Highway * Karoonda Highway Belgium * N55 road (Belgiu ...

and

US 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

, and several new neighborhoods have been built as the town grows toward the west. In October 2006, a chemical explosion and fire in a waste processing facility prompted one of the largest evacuations in U.S. history. There were few serious injuries, and residents were soon able to return home. In 2009, a federal court approved a $7.85M settlement to compensate Apex residents affected by the disaster. Each household received $750. Businesses received $2,200. In addition to the Apex Union Depot, the

Apex City Hall The Apex Town Hall, called Apex City Hall in the National Register of Historic Places is a historic town hall at 237 N Salem Street in the historic district of downtown Apex, North Carolina. It was built in 1912 after the June 12, 1911, fire de ...

Apex Historic District The Apex Historic District is the historic commercial and residential center of Apex, North Carolina, a satellite town of the state capital Raleigh. The district revolves around Salem Street, the main thoroughfare in downtown Apex. In 2007, CNNM ...

, Calvin Wray Lawrence House, and Utley-Council House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Government

Apex's Council-Manager form of government has a mayor and five council members (one of whom serves as Mayor pro tem) who are each elected at-large in staggered four-year terms. The town's attorney and manager serve at the pleasure of the council. All the other staff report to the town manager and manage the town's day-to-day business. The town is led by Mayor Jacques K. Gilbert, elected in 2019. The council members, in order of tenure, are: Brett D. Gantt (2017), Audra M. Killingsworth (2017), Terry J. Mahaffey (2019), Cheryl F. Stallings (2019), and Ed Gray (2021). In the North Carolina House of Representatives, Apex is represented by Julie von Haefen (District 36), Erin Paré (District 37), and Gale Adcock (District 41). In the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

, Apex is represented by

Sydney Batch Sydney Jeanene Batch is a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly, who has represented the state's 17th Senate district since 2021 and formerly represented the State's 37th House district from 2019 until 2021. Education and ...

(District 17). In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Apex is represented by Deborah Ross ( NC-02) and David Price ( NC-04).

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, 58,780 people, 18,197 households, and 14,027 families reside in the town.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 37,476 people, 13,225 households, and 9,959 families in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 2,437.9 people per square mile. There were 13,922 housing units at an average density of 905.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 7%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 12%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 3% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 8% of the population. There were 18,197 total households in Apex in 2019. Of these, 14,027 (77%) were family households, of which 46% had children under 18 living with them. 63% of the family households were married couples living together, and 11% had a female householder with no husband. There were 4,170 nonfamily households in Apex, comprising 23% of total households. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 2.81. In 2019 the Census Bureau estimated the town population's ages as 31% under the age of 20, 15% from 20 to 34, 36% from 35 to 54, and 14% from 55 to 74, and 3% of age 75 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96 males. The median income (in 2019 dollars) for a household in the town was $111,435. (2019 estimate). The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $51,370. About 1.5% are below the

poverty threshold The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

(2019 estimate).

Economy

Top employers

According to the 2020 Comprehensive Financial Report for Apex, these were the town's top employers:

Schools

Apex's public schools are operated by the

Wake County Public School System The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is a public school district located in Wake County, North Carolina. With 157,673 students in average daily membership and 194 schools as of the 2021–2022 school year, it is the largest public sc ...

. There are over 4,000 students enrolled in two public high schools in Apex: * Apex Friendship High School *

Apex High School Apex High School is a public high school in Apex, North Carolina, United States, and is part of the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). It is on a 4x4 block scheduling system. History Apex High School was selected by WCPSS to receive ...

Public middle schools include: *Apex Friendship Middle School *Apex Middle School *Lufkin Road Middle School *Salem Middle School Public elementary schools include: *Apex Elementary School *Apex Friendship Elementary School *Baucom Elementary School *Laurel Park Elementary School *Olive Chapel Elementary School *Salem Elementary School *Scotts Ridge Elementary School Private schools: *Peace Montessori School *St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School *Thales Academy of Apex Charter schools: *Peak Charter Academy

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads

*, , and are the major roads through Apex. *The

Triangle Expressway The Triangle Expressway (TriEx) is the first modern toll road built in North Carolina, and one of the first toll roads in the United States built to use only electronic toll collection instead of toll booths. The overall freeway consists of two ...

southwestern section () is a toll road connecting to . This is a partially completed loop road around the greater Raleigh area. *The Apex Peakway is a

loop road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

orbiting downtown Apex. The Peakway was conceived as a means to relieve traffic in the downtown area and provide a bypass for commuters traveling from one side of the town to the other. It is currently the only "peakway" in North Carolina, taking its name from Apex's town motto: "The ''Peak'' of Good Living." When finished, the Apex Peakway will be long; so far have been constructed.

Transit

* Air: is on approximately 12 miles north of downtown Apex. is to the south on , 22 miles from downtown. * Rail:Apex is not served directly by passenger trains.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

serves the nearby municipalities of Cary and Raleigh.

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

manages a freight train switch yard in the center of Apex. * Bus: The

Triangle Transit Authority The Research Triangle Regional Public Transportation Authority, known as GoTriangle (previously Triangle Transit and Triangle Transit Authority or TTA), provides regional bus service to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina in Wake, Durha ...

branded as

GoTriangle The Research Triangle Regional Public Transportation Authority, known as GoTriangle (previously Triangle Transit and Triangle Transit Authority or TTA), provides regional bus service to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina in Wake, Durha ...

operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, and

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

has terminals in Raleigh and Durham. In 2022,

launched its first Apex branded bus service, GoApex. GoCary also operates an express route that connects the two communities.

Bicycle

U.S. Bicycle Route 1 routes through downtown Apex. * US Bike 5 (M1-8)

North Carolina Bicycle Route 5 The following is a List of bicycle routes in North Carolina. These routes are designated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Division. State U.S. Bicycle Route 1 The North Carolina po ...

connects Apex to Wilmington and closely parallels the NCBC Randonneurs 600 kilometer brevet route. *There are numerous greenway trails including the Beaver Creek Trail and the American Tobacco Trail popular with cyclists.

Utilities

Apex Utilities provides water/sewer, electricity, garbage, recycling, and yard waste pickup. Natural Gas is provided by PSNC.

Health care

Emergency, primary, and specialist care is provided at the

WakeMed WakeMed Health and Hospitals is a 919-bed healthcare system with multiple facilities placed around the metropolitan Raleigh, North Carolina area. WakeMed's main campus is located on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh, North Carolina. WakeMed serves mul ...

Apex Healthplex.

Fire

Fire protection is provided by the Apex Fire Department operating from five stations with a sixth under construction.

Police

Police service is provided by the Apex Police Department.

Parks and recreation

The Apex Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources department manages many parks, greenways, and sport programs, and even a skate park near downtown. Major parks include: * Apex Community Park * Apex Jaycee Park * Hunter Street Park & Trackside Skate Plaza * Kelly Road Park * Nature Park & Seymour Athletic Fields * Salem Pond Park *Pleasant Park, which is in development and for which land has already been bought, is scheduled to open in Fall of 2022. There are both youth and adult sport programs: There are both youth and adult sport programs: * Baseball * Basketball * Lacrosse * Soccer * Softball * Tennis * Volleyball

Arts and culture

*Apex PeakFest is the community's annual festival held on the first Saturday in May. The downtown area is closed off and over 200 vendors provide food, arts & crafts, rides, and other entertainment. *The Halle Cultural Arts Center provides a theater, classroom, and gallery spaces. It was built as the Town Hall in 1912.

Notable people

Wes Durham Dallas Wesley "Wes" Durham (born January 25, 1966 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American sportscaster. He is a play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports and ACC Network coverage of college football and basketball. He works telecasts of the Atl ...

, sportscaster *

Tim Federowicz Timothy Joseph Federowicz (born August 5, 1987) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and ...

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Seth Frankoff James Seth Frankoff (born August 27, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Marin ...

, MLB player * Randi Griffin,

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player who competed in the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...

as part of the Unified Korea women's national team *

Susan Higginbotham Susan Higginbotham is an American historical fiction author and attorney. She has written on the Middle Ages and the Wars of the Roses. Personal life Susan Higginbotham earned her undergraduate degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, and ...

, American historical fiction author and attorney * C. J. Hunter, 1999 World Champion shot putter and later

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

* Justin Jedlica, known as the Human

Ken Doll Kenneth Sean Carson is a fashion doll and fictional character invented by Elliot Handler and introduced by American toy company Mattel in 1961 as the counterpart of Barbie, who was introduced two years earlier. Ken was named after Kenneth Handle ...

* Brendan Lambe,

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

player for

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professional ...

* Matt Mangini, former MLB player for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

Sio Moore Snorsio Alston "Sio" Moore (born May 2, 1990) is a Liberian former American football linebacker. He played college football at Connecticut. Moore was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He also played for ...

, former NFL player for the Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts,

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

, and Arizona Cardinals *

Landon Powell Landon Reed Powell (born March 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball player and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 2009 to 2011 for the Oakland Athletics. Powell is the current head baseball coach ...

, former MLB player for the Oakland Athletics * Julia Montgomery Street, American poet, playwright and author * William Wynn, NFL defensive endWill Wynn Stats
''Pro-Football-Reference''. Retrieved July 15, 2020.

References

External links

Official town of Apex website

Apex Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Towns in North Carolina Towns in Wake County, North Carolina Populated places established in 1873 1873 establishments in North Carolina