Cary is a thriving community in the heart of the Triangle area of North Carolina, between Raleigh and renowned Research Triangle Park. The Triangle area repeatedly has ranked among the top regions in the country to live or work, to find a home or start a business, to raise a family or retire.
The January 2004 issue of Money Magazine names Cary, N.C. the hottest town in the East and one of six Hottest Towns in America. In August 2006, Cary was again recognized by Money Magazine as one of the Best Small Cities in America, ranking fifth on the magazine's 2006 list of Best Places to Live.
On the whole, Caryites are a blessed, hard-working group with one of the highest median household incomes in the state. And being no further than 20 minutes from major universities such as Duke, North Carolina State, and the University of North Carolina, it's no wonder that education is an important part of Cary life. More than two-thirds of adults hold a college degree. Nearly 9 in 10 citizens have access to the Internet in this, the Technology Town of North Carolina.
Cary embraces the best of city life:
Our sense of security - Cary ranked the 8th safest of 371 large cities nationally and the safest in the South during 2005. Its Police and Fire departments and Emergency Medical Services are nationally accredited. - Livability - Tree-lined streets and well-groomed subdivisions and office parks show Cary has grown the right way.
- Vibrancy - Cary is home to world class businesses and national retail stores. Our fast-growing Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources program has something for everyone, regardless of age or interest.
- Diversity - School-age children comprise nearly a quarter of Cary's population. Yet people of retirement age are the fastest-growing group in Cary. Fourteen percent of townspeople were born in another country, and the Asian population - Cary's largest minority - tripled during the 1990s.
- A progressive approach to challenge - Cary is proactive. We're conserving drinking water by reclaiming treated wastewater for irrigation and industrial processes, preserving open space, and working with citizens and county leaders to make our schools even better.
Yet we've remained the Town of Cary while growing to more than 100,000 people.
At the Town of Cary, we focus every day on enriching the lives of our citizens by creating an exceptional environment and providing exemplary services that enable our community to thrive and prosper.
Cary by the Numbers
121,457 (April 2007)
5.92 percent increase since April 2006
3.41 percent annual population growth rate (April 01, 2001 to April 01, 2007)
Median age - 33.7 years (2000 Census)
GPS Location: (Chatham and Academy streets) -78.7812 35.7873
Cary Famous People
Walter Hines Page (1855-1918) is a former US ambassador to the United Kingdom and is from Cary. Page played a major role in bringing the US into the war on the side of the British and the French.
Other Cary natives/residents include, current resident Marshall Brain, the founder of the How Stuff Works website, David Potorti, who became a peace activist after the death of his brother James in the World Trade Center attack of 2001 (he’s a founding member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows), Deborah Gonzales, a novelist who writes under the names Sabrina Jeffries, Deborah Martin and Deborah Nicholas, and former Carolina Hurricanes players who have made Cary their home – Aaron Ward and Jesse Boulerice.