Cary, North Carolina

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. 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 doubling in a few years, tripling in the 1970s, and doubling in both the 1980s and 1990s. Cary is now the location of technology companies, including SAS Institute, the world's largest privately held software company.

In Cary, 68.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, which is higher than the state average. In 2021, it was identified as the safest mid-sized place to live in the United States, based on 2019 FBI data. It also has a median household income of $113,782, higher than the county average of $88,471 or the state average of $60,516. However, their numbers were greatly reduced due to smallpox epidemics, resulting from contact with Europeans who carried the disease and having no prior immunity. However, most of the land remained in the hands of two men, both named Nathaniel Jones. Arriving around 1775, Jones of White Plains plantation owned in eastern Cary, while Jones of Crabtree owned most of what is now western Cary. After the Revolutionary War, the community was on the road between the new capital in Raleigh and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. In the early 19th-century, Eli Yates added a gristmill and sawmill to the community, while Rufus Jones founded the first free school in the 1840s, along with Asbury Methodist Church, the community's first church. The railroad tracks were laid mostly by enslaved people. Wake County farmer and lumberman Allison Francis Page also arrived in 1854 and is credited with founding the town. In 1856, Page added a post office and became the town's first postmaster.

The American Civil War did not come to Cary until April 16, 1865—the same day Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered—when 5,000 Confederate troops under General Wade Hampton III encamped there. With Blair's arrival, Cary's enslaved population was emancipated; some went to Raleigh and joined the 135th U.S. Colored Troops. Around 1868, Page also built a Second Empire style hotel for railroad passengers, known today as the Page-Walker Hotel.

Page, Adolphus Jones, and Rufus Jones established Cary Academy, a private boarding school later known as the Female Institute and Cary Female Academy.

The Raleigh and Augusta Air–Line Railroad arrived in Cary in 1879, creating Fetner Junction just north of downtown and spurring further growth. Sixteen Cary residents purchased Cary Academy in 1896 and converted it into the private boarding school, Cary High School, which had 248 students from across the state by 1900. Town bonds and the State funded a new brick school building in 1913; it was expanded in 1939 with WPA assistance.

In the 1920s, the paved Western Wake Highway (now Western Blvd.) connected Cary to Raleigh via automobile, followed by paved roads to Durham and Apex. For the first time, Cary had housing developments, along with a volunteer fire department and municipal water and sewage system. During the Great Depression, the Bank of Cary failed, and the town went bankrupt. After the club's first annual Gourd Festival in 1944, they sent exhibits to the International Gourd Society Festival in Pasadena, California and took many prizes This earned Cary the nickname "Gourd Capital of the World", a designation reflected by gourds circling the original version of the town seal.

After World War II, Cary began to attract industry, including the Taylor Biscuit Company (later Austin Foods), which became the town's largest employer with some 200 employees. This rapid growth was planned; the State built a four-lane road between Cary and the Research Triangle Park as part of the agreement to attract RTP to North Carolina. Initially, Cary adopted zoning and other ordinances on an ad hoc basis to control growth and give the town structure, including its first subdivision regulations in 1961 and a zoning and land-use plan in 1963. Other ways Cary dealt with the rapid growth in the 1960s was adopting subdivision regulations in 1961, updating zoning ordinances and their land use plan in 1963, and connecting to Raleigh's sewer and water systems in the early 1960s.

In 1960, Cary's population was 3,356 but by 1970, it had grown to 7,686.

By 2000, Cary's population had grown to 94,536. Concerned about forty years of steady growth, in 2008 the town council commissioned the Cary Historic Preservation Master Plan to establish a coordinated approach to historic preservation. Cary now has three districts recognized by the National Register of Historic Places: the Carpenter Historic District, the Green Level Historic District, and the Cary Historic District. In addition, the town has designed ten local landmarks which receive a property tax break in exchange for oversight of exterior changes to the structures by the town's Historic Preservation Commission. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.82%) is water. Cary is bordered on the north and east by Raleigh, generally toward the north by Research Triangle Park and Morrisville, on the south by Apex and Holly Springs, and on the west by the Jordan Lake area. The landscape is typically gentle to moderate sloping hills separated by narrow V-shaped valleys, but there are areas with steeper slopes and broader, U-shaped valleys in western Cary, roughly along NC 55 near the Research Triangle Park and north of Green Hope School Road. There are several small lakes in the area, most notably Lake Crabtree, created for flood control of Crabtree Creek. Jordan Lake is a large reservoir, flood control, and recreational facility that abuts part of western Cary.

Suburbanization is the typical land use in Cary. However, some areas are still undeveloped forests or agricultural, such as the agricultural areas west of NC 55 in Green Level, Upper Middle Creek and the Carpenter community. There is a mixture of mature conifers and broadleaf trees in Cary's parks, nature preserves, and older subdivisions such as Farmington Woods, Greenwood Forest, and Kildaire Farms because tree preservation was a key design element. According to the Town of Cary Land Use Plan, newer construction in Cary, both residential and commercial, shows "less regard for tree preservation and replanting."

Climate

Cary has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification system, with hot summers, mildly cold winters with of snow annually, and several months of pleasant weather each year. Temperature extremes in Cary range from the single digits to over .

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 174,721 residents of Cary residing in 62,789 households.

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|75,299

|93,202

|style='background: #ffffe6; |99,357

|79.65%

|68.92%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |56.87%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|5,744

|10,485

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,506

|6.08%

|7.75%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.73%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|197

|284

|style='background: #ffffe6; |302

|0.21%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.17%

|Asian alone (NH)

|7,636

|17,620

|style='background: #ffffe6; |39,035

|8.08%

|13.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22.34%

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|25

|39

|style='background: #ffffe6; |76

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%

|Some Other Race alone (NH)

|173

|334

|style='background: #ffffe6; |969

|0.18%

|0.25%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.55%

|Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)

|1,415

|2,906

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,100

|1.50%

|2.15%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.06%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|4,047

|10,364

|style='background: #ffffe6; |14,376

|4.28%

|7.66%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.23%

|Total

|94,536

|135,234

|style='background: #ffffe6; |174,721

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

During the 1970s and 1980s, the high number of non-native-born North Carolinians moving to the town for employment in the Research Triangle Park led native-born North Carolinians to refer to Cary derisively as "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees". As of the 2020 Census, 28.97% of Cary's population was born in North Carolina, 77.87% were born in the United States, and 22.13% were foreign-born. Over the past twenty years, Cary has added 10,000 jobs earning $35,000 or less; however, the cost of housing has increased significantly. The median rental cost in Cary is $1,392 per month.

Notable businesses

thumb|upright|[[Epic Games's giant slide]]

thumb|Global Knowledge headquarters

Notable technology companies located in Cary include ABB, Epic Games, Garmin, HCLTech, IntelliScanner Corporation, Lockheed Martin 3D Solutions, SAS Institute, and Xerox.

Manufacturers located in Cary include Austin Foods/Kellogg's which makes snack foods, and Lord Corporation which makes adhesives, coatings, and motion management devices for aerospace and automobiles. Cotton Incorporated is a non–profit located in Cary which conducts worldwide research and promotes the use of cotton.

Top employers

According to Cary's 2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town are:

{| class="wikitable"

!Employer

!# of Employees

|SAS Institute

|4,024

|MetLife

|3,100

|T–3

|Verizon Business

|2,000

|T–3

|Siemens Medical Solutions

|2,000

|HCLTech

|1,600

|Town of Cary

|1,152

|Precision Walls

|1,073

|T–8

|ABB

|1,000

|T–8

|Global Knowledge Training

|1,000

|10

|American Airlines Reservation Center

|964

Arts and culture

Arts facilities and museums

thumb|Cary Arts Center

Cary's public art collection includes more than forty works displayed in public spaces throughout the town. Many of the town's facilities include art gallery spaces with changing exhibits, including the Bond Park Community Center, the Cary Arts Center, the Cary Senior Center, the Cary Town Hall Gallery, the Herbert C. Young Community Center, and the Page–Walker Arts & History Center.

The Cary History Museum is located in the Page-Walker Arts and History Center and features a timeline exhibit of local history. The Stevens Nature Center is located at the Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve and has interactive nature and history exhibits. The BIG Pictures Museum Without Walls is the town's traveling outdoor exhibit.

Town-owned performance venues include the Cary Arts Center, Koka Booth Amphitheatre, and Sertoma Amphitheatre at Bond Park. The town also operates a multi-use cultural facility in a renovated movie theater called The Cary Theater.

Events and festivals

thumb|North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival, 2019

The Cary community supports a wide variety of public events throughout the year. An annual tradition since 1959, Cary Band Day brings high school marching bands from across the southeast to compete in one of the oldest and best-known regional competitions. Cary supports artists with two festivals: Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival and Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival. For the latter, the town closes the main downtown roads for two days, a tradition since 1976. Presented by Asian Focus and the town, the Greater Triangle Area Dragon Boat Festival includes displays, food, performances, and dragon boat races between club and community teams. Founded in 2004, the Ritmo Latino Festival showcases music, art, dance, and food from the Hispanic world. One of the newest annual events in Cary, the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival is quickly becoming a town favorite with its illuminating nighttime celebration of the Chinese New Year with more than 2,500 handcrafted silk lanterns.

Architecture

The oldest structures in Cary, the Nancy Jones House and the Utley–Council House are both examples of regional Federal architecture. Other structures in the Cary Historic District represent early 20th-century architectural styles such as the Tudor Revival style Henry Adams House, the Colonial Revival style Dr. Frank W. House, and the brick bungalow style Dr. John Pullen Hunter House. The district also includes the former Cary High School which is a substantial Neo Classical structure that was designed and built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration, and the related Pasmore House, dating from , which was a boarding house for the former high school. The primary structure in the district is the brick Carpenter Farm Supply Company which has been described as "the most substantial early twentieth-century store building in rural Wake County". Other contributing buildings to the historic district include houses, an assemblage of farming structures, and other commercial structures. Its includes a late 19th to early 20th-century crossroads centered around the intersection of Green Level Church Road and Green Level West Road and a railroad spur. SAS's Building A is ten stories tall with 990 offices and several two-story atriums. This Hindu temple is modeled after the famous Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupathi in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Sports

thumb|[[Carolina Railhawks vs. F.C. Dallas in a 2014 U.S. Open Cup match in WakeMed Soccer Park]]

Cary is home to two professional sports teams: the North Carolina Courage (NWSL) and the North Carolina FC (USL Championship). First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary is the home venue for both soccer teams. As of 2007, Cary is also home of the USA Baseball National Training Complex, located within the Thomas Brooks Park. The complex was selected to host the NCAA Division II baseball tournament in 2009–2016, 2018–2019, and 2021 to date.

Parks and recreation

thumb|Cary Action Sports Skate Park

Cary has more than thirty public parks and natural areas.

Tennis

The Cary Tennis Park is one of the most extensive public tennis facilities in the southeastern United States and features 32 courts, including a championship stadium. In 2019, the facility was one of 25 locations in the United States recognized for "excellence in the construction" by the United States Tennis Association.

Government

thumb|upright|Mayor [[Harold Weinbrecht]]

Despite its sizable population, Cary is classified as a "town" because that is how it was incorporated with the State; North Carolina has no legal distinction between a city and a town for size. Cary has a council-manager government; the mayor and council members serve a four-year term, with half of the council seats being up for election each odd-numbered year. Four of the six council seats are elected by single-member districts; the remaining two seats are elected as at-large representatives, meaning they must attract a majority of votes across the whole town. Notable mayors include Fred Bond Jr. (1971–1983), Koka Booth (1987–1999), Glen Lang (1999–2003), and Harold Weinbrecht (2007–present).

As of February 2026, the town council consists of mayor Harold Weinbrecht and representatives Brittany Richards (District A, Mayor Pro Tem), Michelle Craig (District B), Bella Huang (District C), Sarika Bansal (District D), Lori Bush (at-large), and Carissa Kohn-Johnson (at-large). On October 9, 2007, Weinbrecht defeated incumbent mayor Ernie McAlister in the 2007 mayoral election.

Education

thumb|[[Green Level High School]]

thumb|[[Cary Academy]]

Public schools

Headquartered in Cary, the Wake County Public School System is the largest public school system in North Carolina. Cary has five public high schools: Cary High School, Green Hope High School, Green Level High School, Middle Creek High School, and Panther Creek High School.

Cary has three charter schools: the K–8 grade Cardinal Charter Academy, the K–7 grade Peak Charter Academy, and the K–11 grade Triangle Math and Science Academy.

Private schools

Cary Academy, 6–12 grade
Grace Christian School Upper Campus, 7–12 grade
Heartwood Montessori School, K–12 grade
Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic School, PK–8 grade

Higher education

Wake Technical Community College's Western Wake Campus is located on Kildaire Farm Road in Cary.

Infrastructure

Transportation

thumb|GoCary bus

thumb|Amtrak Station

thumb|upright|Cary Greenway

Public transit

Public transit within the town is provided by GoCary, with six fixed–routes. There is a door-to-door service for senior citizens and riders with disabilities.

Intercity rail

Amtrak's Silver Star, Carolinian, and Piedmont passenger trains stop at the Cary Station, providing service to Charlotte, New York City, Miami, and intermediate points. Constructed in 1995 and expanded in 2011, the station was the fifth-busiest in the state in 2024 and includes 130 free parking spaces.

Bicycle

In 2010, the League of American Bicyclists designated Cary as one of the fourteen recipients of the first Bicycle-Friendly Community awards for "providing safe accommodation and facilities for bicyclists and encouraging residents to bike for transportation and recreation". Cary maintains over of bike-friendly road and greenways facilities. In addition, U.S. Bicycle Route 1 (Carolina Connector) and N.C. Bicycle Route #2, (Mountains to Sea), both pass through suburban Cary.

Pedestrian

Cary maintains a network of of greenways and trails that connect neighborhoods and parks throughout the town.

Air transit

The Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is north of Cary (Cary provides water to the airport) and covers 80 nonstop destinations via 19 carriers. RDU served nearly 15.5 million passengers in 2024, eclipsing the pre-COVID-19 pandemic high of 14.2 million in 2019.

Freeways and primary routes

Cary is linked to areas both in and out of North Carolina via the east–west running Interstate 40, the north–south running U.S. 1, and the east–west running U.S. 64. State highways in Cary include NC 54, NC 55, and NC 540. Another major route in the town is the Cary Parkway. This roadway network is associated with comparatively low traffic fatality rates; a 2025 analysis of federal crash data found that Cary recorded the lowest per-capita fatal motor vehicle crash rate among U.S. cities with populations over 125,000.

Health care

Cary has many choices for primary care physicians, including practices that are connected to Duke University Health System, UNC Medical Center, UNC Rex Healthcare, and WakeMed. WakeMed Cary Hospital, a full-service hospital with 208 acute care beds, is also located in Cary.

Utilities

Duke Energy provides electricity for Cary. Dominion Energy has provided natural gas to Cary since 2019, when it acquired the Public Service Company of North Carolina. Cary's primary water source is the B. Everett Jordan Reservoir (also known as Jordan Lake), which is treated at the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Facility. Water and sewage accounts are overseen by the Town of Cary. Cary also provides bi-weekly curbside recycling.

Smart city technology

In 2016, Cary created its Simulated Smart City Program, which allows the town to test and evaluate Internet of Things (IoT) and smart city technologies in its town hall campus. Technologies already tested and expanded into the community include sensors for public parking that reveal available spots, smart street lights that dim when not needed, smart trash and recycling containers that message when they are full, and free outdoor Wi-Fi via beacons. The first town-wide IoT project was a smart water monitoring system with analytics from the SAS Institute, which can detect leaks. The National Recreation and Park Association noted, "These technologies offer more than just cost savings for the city of Cary. They also provide convenient quality-of-life improvements for citizens, and in many cases help lower environmental waste."

In 2021, Cary installed IoT and smart city technologies that give emergency vehicles faster access through pedestrian crossings, railroad crossings, school zones, and traffic lights. Connected World says, "In the quest for developing smarter cities across the country, ...the town of Cary, N.C., is one of the smartest towns in the United States".

Notable people

Sister cities

The Sister Cities Association of Cary has created long–term relationships with five sister cities:

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France (1992)
Hsinchu, Taiwan (1993)
County Meath, Ireland (2001)
Markham, Canada (2002)
Bandırma, Turkey (2022)

References

External links

Cary Chamber of Commerce