Cary

Population & Demographics

Cary, NC

Cary is home to 179,306 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 86,278 resident workers commute each day.

North CarolinaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
179,306
people
Population

179,306 residents

Median age 40.2 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Cary population & demographics

Who lives in Cary — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
179,306
Median age
40.2yrs
Median household income
$134,905
Median home value
$580,200
Median gross rent
$1,738/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
70.5%
Poverty rate
5.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Cary

How Cary breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White56.7%
Asian20.3%
Hispanic or Latino9.5%
Black7.6%
Two or more races4.7%
Some other race0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.1%

Race across Cary

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Cary.

Cary at a glance
Employed Residents
86,278
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
11.0mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
18.7%
Share working within the area
Work from home
36.5%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Raleigh
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Cary proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Cary commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

65
Commute Score

65 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Cary

86,278 commutes, one dot at a time

Cary

Where 86,278 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Cary, by worker count.

1Raleigh11.0 mi20,770
2Cary0.0 mi16,166
3Durham13.9 mi11,238
4Charlotte119.7 mi4,131
5Morrisville3.4 mi3,702
6Chapel Hill15.0 mi2,514
7Apex4.9 mi2,186
8Greensboro58.9 mi1,011

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Cary.

1Raleigh11.0 mi17,992
2Cary0.0 mi16,166
3Durham13.9 mi6,433
4Apex4.9 mi5,270
5Holly Springs9.3 mi3,024
6Charlotte119.7 mi2,442
7Fuquay-Varina13.4 mi2,310
8Morrisville3.4 mi2,178

Top industries

The sectors that employ Cary’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services13.7%
INInformation12.4%
RTRetail Trade11.3%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance9.2%
AFAccommodation and Food Services8.7%
EDEducational Services8.1%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services7.6%
WSWholesale Trade5.4%
COConstruction4.5%
Connectivity

Internet options for Cary

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

5 providers · 2 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps100%
8 Gbps100%
See all internet providers in Cary

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).