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Cary

A town of 179,306 people in North Carolina
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Around town

The places and views that make it Cary

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Outdoors in Cary

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Map of Cary: conserved land, trails and the top places to walk
Conserved land9.3%3,667 of 39,620 acres
Trails46 mi0.7 mi per sq mi
Parks & preserves6820 conserved acres per 1,000 residents

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

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Know Cary

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About Cary

Town in North Carolina, US
1750Established
174,721Population
57.6 sq miArea
479 ftElevation

Cary is a town in Wake, Chatham, and Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh-most populous municipality in North Carolina, and the 146th-most populous in the United States. In 2023, the town's population had increased to 180,010. Cary began as a railroad village and became known as an educational center in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In April 1907, Cary High School became the first state-funded public high school in North Carolina. The creation of the nearby Research Triangle Park in 1959 resulted in Cary's population doub…

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From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Town numbers

ZIP code27511, 27512, 27513
Area code919, 984
Living in Cary

Housing in Cary

$620K▼ 1.4% in a year Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Cary home is worth about $620,000, down 1.4% in a year, 85% above the North Carolina typical home.

A seller's market

Buyer’sBalancedSeller’s
Days on market17
Sale-to-list100%
Sold in May227
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in Cary

B

Safety Grade B

Cary reports less crime per resident than 61% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade.

Violent crime per 1,000
Cary 0.7
North Carolina 3.3
U.S. 3.3
Property crime per 1,000
Cary 9.6
North Carolina 18.1
U.S. 15.5
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in Cary

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B+

School Grade B+

The public schools Cary’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 74% of North Carolina’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

#14Best public schoolsof 252 in NC
DistrictWake County SchoolsSchools54

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within NC. Ratings are from neighbors.

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Cary

North Carolina · NC
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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01