Apex, North Carolina

Apex is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, a satellite city of Raleigh. The population was 20,212 at the 2000 census and estimated to be 31,453 in 2007. The town motto is "The Peak of Good Living."

Geography

Apex is located at (35.731952, -78.852878).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.6 square miles (27.5 km²), of which, 10.5 square miles (27.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.57%) is water.

Neighboring towns include Raleigh to the east, Cary to the north and northeast, and Holly Springs to the south.

History

The town of Apex was incorporated in 1873, named for its location as the highest point on the Chatham Railroad between Richmond, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida. Apex grew slowly through the succeeding decades, despite several devastating fires, including a 1912 conflagration which 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 passenger station for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad 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, but growth began again in earnest in the 1950s. The town's position in 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 and US 64, and several new neighborhoods have been built as the town grows toward the west. Several "infill" projects are also underway.

In October 2006, a chemical fire in an Apex waste processing facility generated worldwide headlines when much of the town was temporarily evacuated. There were few serious injuries, and residents were soon able to return home.

In July 2007, CNN/Money magazine ranked Apex #14th on its list of the nation's top 100 small towns.

Government

Apex's Council-Manager form of government comprises a mayor and five councilmen (one who serves as Mayor pro tem) who are elected at-large for four-year terms. A Town Manager and staff direct all town departments.

Keith Weatherly is the mayor of Apex and was first elected to the post in 1995 after serving for 2 years on the town council. He is currently serving his 3rd term. The Mayor pro tem is Mike Jones (4th term). Councilmen include Bryan Gossage (2nd term), Bill Jensen (3rd term), Gene Schulze (2nd term) and Bill Sutton (1st term). The current Town Manager is Bruce Radford.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,212 people, 7,397 households, and 5,584 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,918.2 people per square mile (740.4/km²). There were 8,028 housing units at an average density of 761.9/sq mi (294.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.06% White, 7.55% African American, 0.29% Native American, 4.27% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.11% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.21% of the population.

There were 7,397 households out of which 46.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.2% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the town the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 44.8% from 25 to 44, 15.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $71,052, and the median income for a family was $78,689. Males had a median income of $55,587 versus $37,057 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,727. About 1.2% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Transportation

Passenger

Air: Raleigh-Durham International Airport is just north of Raleigh on I-40.
Interstate Highway: I-40 is accessible from Raleigh by US 64 and from Durham by NC 55.
Apex is not served directly by passenger trains. Amtrak serves the nearby municipalities of Cary and Raleigh.
Local Bus: The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.
Bicycle: The NC-DOT Cape Fear Run bicycle route connects Apex to Wilmington and closely parallels the RUSA 600km brevet route.

Roads

The Apex Peakway will be, when completely finished, a loop road 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 5.86 miles in length; so far 2.44 miles have been constructed.
I-540 is planned to be connected to southern Apex in 2011 .
US 64 and U.S. 1 are both freeways in the Apex area. NC 55 travels through the center of town.