Born November 10, 1914 in Lincoln, Idaho, Raleigh Barlowe moved to Montana at an early age. He was the class valedictorian of Simms High School in 1932. He went on to attend Utah State Agricultural College, majoring in History and minoring in English. Barlowe received his B.S. in June 1936. From 1936-1939, Barlowe attended American University in Washington D.C., majoring in Political Science and minoring in Constitutional Law. He received his M.A. in January 1939. During his time at American, Barlowe also completed courses at the U.S. Department of Agricultural Graduate School. Barlowe went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in January 1946 majoring in Economics and minoring in Public Administration.

Before becoming a professor at Michigan State University, Barlowe held positions as an assistant land economist for the Southwestern Land Tenure Research Project in Fayetteville, Arkansas (1942-1943), an agricultural economist for the United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Economics in Milwaukee and Washington D.C.(1943-1947), and as an economist for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Washington D.C. (1947). At MSU, Barlowe became a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics and later become chair of the Department of Resource Development where he transformed the department into internationally-known model for resource development education. Barlowe retired in the early 1980s, but stayed active in the department into his 90s. Over the course of his professional career, Barlowe published frequently, worked on many consultant assignments, received several awards, and participated in a number of professional societies and committees.