<P> Wake Forest is a town in Franklin and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina ; located almost entirely in Wake County , it lies just north of the state capital , Raleigh . The population was 30,117 at the 2010 census , up from 12,588 at the 2000 census . The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city 's population to be 34,752 as of July 1 , 2013 . In 2007 , the town was listed by Forbes magazine as the 20th fastest growing suburb in America , with a 73.2 percent increase in population between 2000 and 2006 . Wake Forest was the original home of Wake Forest University for 122 years before it moved to Winston - Salem in 1956 . </P>
where is wake forest located in north carolina
just north of the state capital , Raleigh