Raleigh, NC (population: 421,938) has one hospitality school within its city limits. Wake Technical Community College has a total student population of 15,203. It is the 5106th highest ranked school in the USA and the 105th highest in the state of North Carolina (#1 is Duke University).
Hospitality students from Raleigh schools who go on to become hospitality managers, caterers, event planners, wedding planners, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 334,310 people working as hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $19,190. Also, Food preparation and serving related employees make on average $20,880 per year and there are about 11,218,260 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Raleigh-Cary area alone, there are 42,210 employed food preparation and serving related employees earning an average salary of $19,930. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop in this area earn $17,220/yr and there are 1,430 employed.
Raleigh lies in Wake county, which is one of the 64 counties in North Carolina. Overall, the Raleigh-Cary area has 499,330 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.6% unemployment rate, $20.85/hr average worker wage, and a $43,370 average annual salary. Thus, about 2.866 out of every 1000 jobs in Raleigh are held by hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop, and 84.541/1000 are held by food preparation and serving related employees.
After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Wake Technical Community College ends up costing a student $12,759/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Raleigh |
| Cary | NC | 145,939 | 1 | 22.8054 | 14 | 8.3 miles |
| Durham | NC | 235,337 | 9 | 27.0185 | 371 | 17.9 miles |
| Chapel Hill | NC | 53,800 | 1 | 88.0971 | 148 | 22.6 miles |
| Wilson | NC | 49,786 | 3 | 25.177 | 101 | 42.0 miles |
| Burlington | NC | 53,389 | 3 | 40.9051 | 223 | 47.8 miles |
| Rocky Mount | NC | 57,428 | 2 | 10.9274 | 84 | 48.6 miles |
| Fayetteville | NC | 177,632 | 7 | 29.3341 | 376 | 53.6 miles |
| Tarboro | NC | - | 1 | 20.0774 | 40 | 63.2 miles |
| Greensboro | NC | 259,523 | 7 | 44.9987 | 387 | 67.9 miles |
| Weldon | NC | - | 1 | 13.6824 | 51 | 72.8 miles |
| Greenville | NC | 85,963 | 10 | 31.6955 | 630 | 74.0 miles |
| Wentworth | NC | - | 1 | 11.7821 | 42 | 74.1 miles |
| High Point | NC | 105,064 | 3 | 31.8326 | 88 | 75.9 miles |
| Alberta | VA | - | 1 | 15.5248 | 32 | 84.2 miles |
| Pembroke | NC | - | 1 | 53.5737 | 73 | 84.4 miles |
| Laurinburg | NC | - | 1 | 18.8047 | 40 | 85.4 miles |
| Martinsville | VA | - | 1 | 12.8903 | 37 | 90.6 miles |
| Winston Salem | NC | - | 7 | 32.3218 | 230 | 90.8 miles |
| Misenheimer | NC | - | 1 | 21.9215 | 70 | 94.4 miles |