An up-and-coming Raleigh suburb with lots of newly built homes
Often referred to interchangeably as Willow Springs, Willow Spring is a sprawling community spanning across Wake and Johnston Counties in North Carolina. “There’s no consensus on how it should be spelled. Without or without the S, it’s the same community,” says Ricardo Cobos, Realtor at 8th Day Realty Group and local resident. Though, he notes, some residents affirm that Willow Springs denotes the Johnston County side, while Willow Spring is the Wake County side.
Either way, residents enjoy Willow Spring’s location 15 miles south of Raleigh and abundance of newly constructed homes – as well as some older starter homes. “When I moved to Willow Spring from downtown Raleigh in 1994, I thought I was moving to the boondocks. And I was. But then it started changing,” says Julie Toy, Realtor at Coldwell Banker Advantage and Willow Spring resident. Willow Spring has exploded with growth: Newly opened parks and schools and recently expanded highways have made Willow Spring an increasingly desirable, up-and-coming Raleigh suburb.
Older homes on large lots, and newer homes in subdivisions
Once primarily consisting of farmland, Willow Spring now has many subdivisions. Cottages and ranch-style homes built in the 1990s sit on one-acre lots. Newer homes often sit on about a half-acre and feature two-story, new traditional styles with attached garages, and there are some townhouses. Smaller homes and townhouses often sell for between $230,000 and $350,000, while larger, newer homes often sell for between $500,000 and $850,000. “In the last five years, as builders have closed in and done infills, Willow Spring has become very attractive to homebuilders,” Cobos says. “Compared to nearby Fuquay, it’s slightly cheaper, and you get bigger lot sizes and less congestion.” Willow Spring also has a CAP Index crime score of 2, lower than the national average of 4.
Several public schools serve Willow Spring
Students living in Willow Spring may attend either Wake County Public Schools or Johnston County Public Schools. Some students will begin at Willow Springs Elementary School, a year-round school that has an A grade from Niche. Herbert Atkins Road Middle School is not yet rated by Niche and opened in 2022. The newly constructed building has touchscreens in every classroom, an auditorium, collaborative spaces in each hallway and more features. Some students continue to Willow Spring High School, which opened in 2021 and has a B grade from Niche.
Shopping and dining in adjacent towns
Residents typically travel to neighboring towns, such as Fuquay-Varina and Garner, for shopping and dining. “The growth has been quick in terms of the residential sector, but the development of the commercial sector and supporting services, like parks and dining, has been a little slower,” Toy says. Fuquay-Varina's shopping options include Walmart Supercenter, The Home Depot, T.J. Maxx and Kohl’s. The area also has breweries, coffee shops and restaurants like Cultivate Coffee Roasters and Fainting Goat Brewing Company. For more local dining, Toy also recommends Amore Mio Pizzeria in Garner. “Oh heavens. Their pizza will make your eyes roll back in your head,” she says.
The extensive Beech Bluff Park opened in 2025
Willow Spring is home to the 300-acre Beech Bluff Park. “We love to go there. They have beautiful walking trails, and that part of the county hasn’t had any type of recreation [previously],” Cobos says. This park opened in 2025 and has a community garden, learning center, playgrounds, a sprawling lawn and more. Although Willow Spring is primarily subdivisions and farmland outside of this park, adjacent communities have more recreation. For instance, Lake Benson Park in Garner has a boating and fishing lake surrounded by trails.
Commuting throughout the Triangle from Willow Spring
Willow Spring is about 15 miles south of Raleigh and 35 miles south of Raleigh-Durham International Airport. A recent expansion of Interstate 540, Raleigh’s outer Beltline, has expedited driving times around the region for residents living in Willow Spring. The expansion is a tollway. “I use it all the time. I know it’s expensive, but time is money, and I can get to various parts of Raleigh, Apex, Holly Springs and Cary that much quicker than I could before,” Toy says. U.S. Route 42 also goes through Willow Spring, connecting drivers west to Fuquay Varina and east across the state.
Written By
Faith Wakefield
