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EPA WATER QUALITY DATA · NC

Is Wake County Tap Water Safe in 2026?

Population-weighted grade and city-level UCMR5 risk bands for 2 WaterCheckup cities in Wake County. "At Risk" means at least one analyte above an EPA limit or a regulated PFAS violation for that system. "Safe" means no such flag and a low-concern city profile.

COUNTY GRADE
F
Score 7.3
2
Total cities
1
At Risk
0
Safe
645K
Population served
TOP CONTAMINANTS IN WAKE COUNTY (UCMR5)

Most common analytes with detections (>0) across cities in this county — each city counted once per compound.

1.PFBS2 cities
2.PFBA1 city
3.PFHpS1 city
4.PFHxA1 city
5.PFHxS1 city
6.PFOA1 city
7.PFOS1 city
CITIES IN WAKE COUNTY
CITYGRADECONTAMINANTS ABOVE LIMITPOPULATION
RaleighFAT RISK3470K
CaryFMONITOR—175K
FILTER RECOMMENDATIONS

Typical picks for households in Wake County when UCMR5 shows PFAS or related analytes — same product lines we feature on city pages.

TOP PICKS FOR WAKE COUNTY
⚠ PFBS and related contaminants in county UCMR data
#1
Waterdrop G3P800 RO
EDITORS PICK
Waterdrop  ·  ~$849
Tankless 800 GPD, removes 99%+ PFAS & lead, 10-stage filtration. Smart faucet TDS display.
WHY THIS FOR WAKE COUNTY · Chosen for Wake County because 1 of 2 tracked cities show at least one UCMR analyte above an EPA limit or a regulated violation — reverse osmosis removes 99%+ of PFAS and many co-occurring pollutants at the tap.
#2
Aquasana SmartFlow RO
MOST CERTIFIED
Aquasana  ·  ~$449
WQA Gold Seal + NSF 42/53/58/401. Most certifications of any under-sink RO. Removes 90+ contaminants.
#3
AquaTru Under-Sink RO
EASIEST FILTER CHANGE
AquaTru  ·  ~$375
NSF 42/53/58 certified. Quick-change filters, no tools. Compact tankless design, 4-stage filtration.
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