Cost of Living and Housing in Cary, North Carolina

Cary has about 179,306 residents. Median gross rent is $1,738 per month and median household income is $134,905.

Comparison scope: “dataset median” below means the median among 1,211 cities across 10 states in this dataset. It is not presented as a nationwide Census median. The figures use 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates and may lag current listings.

Median Gross Rent $1,738/mo 5% above the dataset median

Median Home Value $580,200 55% above the dataset median

Median Household Income $134,905 61% above the dataset median

Owner-Occupied Homes 67% Share of occupied housing units

Rent-to-Income Baseline 15% Annual median rent ÷ household income

Home Value-to-Income 4.3x Median value ÷ household income

How Cary compares

Rent is 5% above the dataset median, while household income is 61% above the dataset median. Within North Carolina, Cary ranks #42 from lowest to highest rent and #3 from highest to lowest household income among 49 cities in this dataset.

The rent-to-income figure compares two citywide medians. It is useful for broad comparison, but it is not an individual household budget or a measure of renter cost burden.

Similar-size cities in North Carolina

Frequently asked questions

What is the median rent in Cary?

Median gross rent is $1,738 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

What is the median home value in Cary?

The median value of owner-occupied homes is $580,200 in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

What is the median household income?

Median household income in Cary is $134,905 per year.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Local database refreshed 2026-07-11.