Raleigh, NC water hardness

Tap water hardness
25mg/L
1.5gpg
Soft

Reported by Raleigh, City of · October 2025

NC typical
31 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

Raleigh water measures 25 mg/L (1.5 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Raleigh, City of, dated October 2025.

Raleigh on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+NC typical 31Knightdale: 25 mg/LKnightdale 25Garner: 25 mg/LGarner 25Rolesville: 25 mg/LRolesville 25Apex: 27 mg/LApex 27Morrisville: 30 mg/LMorrisville 30Durham: 30 mg/LDurham 30Cary: 33 mg/LCary 33Holly Springs: 41 mg/LHolly Springs 41Angier: 51 mg/LAngier 51Wake Forest: 106 mg/LWake Forest 106Raleigh 25mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+NC 31Knightdale: 25 mg/LKnightdale 25Garner: 25 mg/LGarner 25Rolesville: 25 mg/LRolesville 25Morrisville: 30 mg/LMorrisville 30Cary: 33 mg/LCary 33Wake Forest: 106 mg/LWake Forest 10625 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

At 25 mg/L, Raleigh is close to the typical North Carolina figure of 31 mg/L. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 25 mg/L in Knightdale to 106 in Wake Forest.

What 25 mg/L means at home

Soap and shampoo lather with very little product. Kettles and showerheads stay mostly free of white crust.

Some people notice that soap feels slow to rinse off in soft water. That slippery feel is normal and harmless.

Hardness is not a health problem, and EPA sets no limit for it. It is a matter of scale and soap.

What to do about it

Nothing, as far as hardness goes. At 25 mg/L a softener would have almost nothing to remove.

Carbon filter

If the water tastes of chlorine, a pitcher or faucet carbon filter takes care of that. It does not change hardness.

EPA record for Raleigh's water system

Raleigh, City of · PWSID NC0392010

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 650,000 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0

Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a missed treatment step. Monitoring and reporting violations are late or missing tests and notices. Source: EPA ECHO, 2026Q3 export, violations with periods starting 2016 or later. Full EPA record.

Questions

Is Raleigh water hard?

No. It measures about 25 mg/L (1.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Raleigh in grains per gallon?

About 1.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 25 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 1.5.

Has the Raleigh water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Raleigh, City of since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 101 cities in North Carolina

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, October 7, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.