Talent Maps / Raleigh / Architects

Raleigh Architect Talent Map (2026)

What architects earn in Raleigh, which firms employ them and the arena, hospital, school and life science projects shaping the market.

Hiring architects in Raleigh?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers architects in the Raleigh-Cary metro area, with Research Triangle Park and Durham as a nearby submarket. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and firm and market data from 2025 and 2026. Our Raleigh architectural recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Raleigh CAD designer, structural engineer and civil engineer talent maps.

$91,570Median architect pay in RaleighBLS, May 2025

$83,420Median landscape architect pay in RaleighBLS, May 2025

$300MLenovo Center renovation, designed by Gensler and running through summer 2028WRAL, 2026

500Beds planned at the NC Children’s hospital in Apex, with groundbreaking in 2027NC Children’s

$680MWake County school bond on the November 3, 2026 ballotWake County Public School System

2027Next NAAB accreditation visit for NC State’s B.Arch and M.Arch programsNC State College of Design

Architect salaries in Raleigh

The median architect in metro Raleigh earns $91,570 a year, $4,130 below the North Carolina median of $95,700 and $7,710 below the national median of $99,280. Raleigh pays less than Charlotte and Durham-Chapel Hill, where the median is $98,620 in both metros. The middle half earn between $80,510 and $119,220, and the top 10% earn $164,820 or more, above the state and national 90th percentiles.

Annual pay percentile	Raleigh metro	North Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$64,760	$64,730	$62,300
25th percentile	$80,510	$79,010	$77,960
Median	$91,570	$95,700	$99,280
75th percentile	$119,220	$122,960	$126,550
90th percentile	$164,820	$164,270	$161,420

Architects, except landscape and naval (SOC 17-1011), Raleigh-Cary MSA. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine.

Related roles in Raleigh: landscape architects earn a median of $83,420, interior designers $64,480 and architectural and civil drafters $65,840.

Where Raleigh’s architects work

Founded in the Triangle

Clearscapes was founded in Raleigh in 1981 and has won more than 80 design awards. O’Brien Atkins, based in Research Triangle Park, was the first winner of the AIA North Carolina Firm of the Year award.

Duda|Paine, founded in Durham in 1997 by Turan Duda and Jeffrey Paine, was acquired by Dallas-based Corgan in September 2026.

Regional firms with Raleigh offices

Clark Nexsen, founded in 1920, has nearly 400 staff in nine offices and joined JMT in 2025. LS3P, which has five North Carolina offices, works from the same North Harrington Street building in Raleigh.

Cline Design has offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Austin and the Washington, D.C. area.

National firms

Gensler is leading the multi-phase Lenovo Center renovation. Corgan, with more than 1,400 employees in 23 locations, now has a larger Triangle presence through Duda|Paine.

Owners

NC State, UNC Health and Duke Health (through NC Children’s), the Wake County Public School System, Wake Tech, the Centennial Authority and the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority hire architects and manage design contracts.

Where the talent sits: Raleigh submarkets

Downtown Raleigh

Design studiosCivic

Clearscapes on South Person Street, and Clark Nexsen, LS3P and Cline Design on North Harrington Street.

NC State and the Lenovo Center

SportsHigher education

The $300 million arena renovation runs through summer 2028, and construction on an entertainment district around it is due to start after the 2026 NC State football season.

Research Triangle Park and Durham

CorporateScience

O’Brien Atkins has designed RTP campuses for Cisco, NetApp, Biogen and GSK. Duda|Paine is based in Durham.

Apex and Holly Springs

HealthcareLife science

NC Children’s 220-acre campus in Apex, and the Fujifilm and Amgen biomanufacturing sites in Holly Springs.

Countywide schools and Wake Tech

K-12Higher education

The $680 million school bond would fund three new schools and renovations at nine. Wake Tech’s $149.1 million bond includes $65 million for Southern Wake Campus renovations.

What’s shaping the Raleigh architecture market

Lenovo Center. Gensler is leading the $300 million renovation of the home of the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State basketball. The $100 million first phase added a 4,500 square foot multipurpose room and bunker suites. The Centennial Authority is expected to vote on the next $200 million phase before the end of 2026, and work runs through summer 2028.
NC Children’s. UNC Health and Duke Health picked a 220-acre Apex site in July 2025 for a 500-bed children’s hospital, an outpatient center and a behavioral health center. Groundbreaking is planned for 2027, and construction is expected to take about six years.
Schools. Wake County voters decide on a $680 million school bond on November 3, 2026, alongside $152.3 million in county cash. It would fund three new schools, renovations at nine schools and 70 system replacement projects. A separate $149.1 million Wake Tech bond is on the same ballot.
Life science. Fujifilm opened the first phase of its $3.2 billion Holly Springs site in September 2025, Amgen announced a $1 billion second plant there in December 2024, and Novo Nordisk is building a $4.1 billion plant in Clayton.
Airport. RDU’s new runway, due in 2029, opens room for more Terminal 2 gates, including international gates.
Growth. The City of Raleigh passed 500,000 people in 2025. Apex passed 80,000 and Holly Springs 50,000.

The talent pipeline

NC State University. NC State’s College of Design offers a NAAB-accredited B.Arch and two M.Arch tracks, with the next accreditation visit in 2027. Its Master of Landscape Architecture is accredited by LAAB.
UNC Charlotte. UNC Charlotte’s NAAB-accredited M.Arch had its last visit in 2024, with the next in spring 2032.
Wake Tech. Wake Tech’s Architectural Technology AAS trains technicians in AutoCAD, Revit and SketchUp. Clark Nexsen is among its scholarship sponsors.

What this means if you’re hiring

Healthcare and life science run into the 2030s. NC Children’s construction is expected to take about six years from a 2027 start.
Expect Charlotte and Durham pay comparisons. Raleigh’s median is $7,050 below both, and candidates from firms in those metros will expect more.
K-12 work depends on the November 2026 vote. The school and Wake Tech bonds together total $829.1 million.
Recruit from NC State. Its College of Design offers NAAB-accredited B.Arch and M.Arch degrees in Raleigh.

Need architects in Raleigh?

Apollo Technical has recruited for architecture and engineering firms since 2010. Our recruiting teams place architects, project architects and designers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 919.710.8098 or see our Raleigh architectural recruiters page.

Hire architects in Raleigh

Frequently asked questions

How much do architects make in Raleigh?

The median architect salary in metro Raleigh is $91,570 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $80,510 and $119,220, and the top 10% earn $164,820 or more.

Do architects earn more in Raleigh or Charlotte?

Charlotte. The median architect in metro Charlotte earns $98,620, against $91,570 in metro Raleigh. The Durham-Chapel Hill median is also $98,620. See our Charlotte architect talent map.

Who is designing the Lenovo Center renovation?

Gensler is leading the multi-phase renovation. The first $100 million phase added a multipurpose room and bunker suites, and the Centennial Authority is expected to vote on the next $200 million phase before the end of 2026.

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