[7][8] The town was named after Lieutenant Raymond, who had explored the Hunter River in 1797 and described the terraced appearance of trees in the area.

[10] Raymond Terrace is situated to the east of the Hunter and Williams rivers and consists of three distinct regions.

[8] The north and south regions are primarily rural/semi-rural and occupy approximately 74% of the town's land with only 3% of the population living in these areas.

The town of Raymond Terrace is mostly protected by levee banks and other flood mitigation devices.

[18] The Fire & Rescue New South Wales fire station is located at the eastern edge of the town in Leisure Way, adjacent to Grahamstown Dam, while the New South Wales Ambulance ambulance station is located on Adelaide Street (old Pacific Highway), a short distance from the centre of the town.

[23] Both contain supermarkets and a variety of speciality shops and are within a short walking distance of each other on either side of William Street.

[33][34][35][36][37] The Raymond Terrace Jets won the NSW Division One State Pennant in lawn bowls in 2022, defeating Warilla 61–60 in the final.

[38] The club is home to ex-Australian representatives Matthew Baus and Lee Schraner, the latter a world singles champion in 2019.

There is a boat ramp adjacent to the Fitzgerald Bridge, which crosses the Williams River, and the area is popular with water skiers and fisherpeople.

[40] In June 2009, Screen Australia announced that it would fund the development of the feature film Tomorrow, When The War Began, based on the John Marsden novel of the same name.

[41][42][43] Raymond Terrace was chosen as a major location for producing the film as it is "a great country town".