Should I Move To
Roughly 174,880 people live in Cary, North Carolina. Living here costs moderate relative to the rest of the country, essentially matching the national average. Median rent runs about $1,538/mo; the typical household pulls in $125,317. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 69/100 — a B-, putting it at #19 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Cary sits at 100 — moderate when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($1,538/mo against $125,317 median household income), housing eats roughly 15% of a typical paycheck — comfortably under the 30% rule of thumb, which is unusual. Buying-side, the median home value is $477,400.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is four-season: roughly 89°F in summer, 33°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 46 inches. You'll need a car for most things, though the central core is more walkable than the citywide score suggests. Crime numbers are reassuringly low here, well under the typical US city. AQI runs about 41 — a "good" reading.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Cary is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 75/100 — a B. Its standout dimension is education (97/100); the soft spot is walkability (27/100).
For retirees, Cary is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 64/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is education (97/100); the soft spot is walkability (27/100).
For remote workers, Cary is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 64/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is education (97/100); the soft spot is walkability (27/100).
For young professionals, Cary is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 68/100 — a B-. Its standout dimension is education (97/100); the soft spot is walkability (27/100).
Our overall score for Cary is 69/100 — a B-, sitting at #19 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Cary sits at 100 — moderate, essentially matching the national average. Median renter pays around $1,538 a month.
Cary runs four-season on the weather. Summer's near 89°F, winter's near 33°F; 46 inches of precipitation annually.
Walk Score: 27/100. You'll need a car for most things, though the central core is more walkable than the citywide score suggests.
Roughly 174,880 people live here, with 70% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 39.
Drop Cary into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Cary with other North Carolina cities scored on UrbRank.
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