Wake County is a county in the US state of North Carolina. As of July 1, 2015, the population was 1,024,198, making it North Carolina's second-most populated county. Wake County is the 9th fastest-growing county in the United States, with the town of Cary and the city of Raleigh being the 8th and 15th fastest-growing cities, respectively. Its county seat is Raleigh, which is also the state capital. Eleven other municipalities are in Wake County, the largest of which is Cary, the third largest city of the Research Triangle region and the seventh largest municipality in North Carolina.