Cary has plenty to offer, but the price of admission usually comes with traffic, sky-high rent, and a calendar that fills itself.
If you want the upside of Cary without the daily grind, the answer is almost always a good suburb. The catch: not every suburb is worth the move.
So we ranked them. Using Saturday Night Science, we pulled the numbers on every place within commuting distance of Cary: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
$144,135 median income · $599,085 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Apex is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Cary area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Apex.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $144,135 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Cary region. And only 3.8% are out of work. Homes average more than $599,085 each.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$125,396 median income · $480,926 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Morrisville is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Cary for 2026.
It ranks 4th for incomes in the area and only 3.3% of residents lack insurance, good for 2nd best.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$135,578 median income · $579,090 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Here in Holly Springs, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Cary metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Holly Springs.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$123,802 median income · $512,161 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Wake Forest ranks as the 4th best suburb of Cary for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Wake Forest and the schools are some of the best around.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$115,497 median income · $525,746 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Coming in as the fifth best is Fuquay-Varina.
Fuquay-Varina gets kudos for having the 5th most expensive homes in the Cary area, where houses sell for an average of $525,746. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$149,565 median income · $497,996 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
Rolesville is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 3.7%.
According to online reports, Rolesville is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Cary area, meaning you need to get in soon.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$103,220 median income · $370,204 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Knightdale.
Knightdale schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 17.8 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$81,639 median income · $548,636 median home price
Pittsboro is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 1.9% of people lack insurance, good for 1st in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$85,743 median income · $429,675 median home price
Located in
Orange County, North Carolina
Is ‘Everything Better In Carrboro?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$85,989 median income · $631,167 median home price
Located in
Orange County, North Carolina
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 is Chapel Hill.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Carolina’s statewide median.
North Carolina statewide median: $72,388
North Carolina statewide median: $336,408
North Carolina statewide median: 4.7%
North Carolina statewide median: 13.0%
On the map
Where the best Cary suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best suburbs around Cary for 2026
Figuring out the best suburbs around Cary was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2020-2024 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Cary.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 26 suburbs to evaluate around Cary.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 26 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Cary.” We’re lookin’ at you, Apex.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best Cary suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
The full plate
Table: Best Cary Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Suburb Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apex | 4.00 | 70,630 | $144,135 | $599,085 |
| 2 | Morrisville | 4.86 | 31,422 | $125,396 | $480,926 |
| 3 | Holly Springs | 6.29 | 45,248 | $135,578 | $579,090 |
| 4 | Wake Forest | 7.14 | 52,844 | $123,802 | $512,161 |
| 5 | Fuquay-Varina | 7.36 | 40,485 | $115,497 | $525,746 |
| 6 | Rolesville | 7.50 | 10,766 | $149,565 | $497,996 |
| 7 | Knightdale | 9.00 | 20,214 | $103,220 | $370,204 |
| 8 | Pittsboro | 9.57 | 4,752 | $81,639 | $548,636 |
| 9 | Carrboro | 11.14 | 21,204 | $85,743 | $429,675 |
| 10 | Chapel Hill | 11.29 | 61,607 | $85,989 | $631,167 |
| 11 | Hillsborough | 11.36 | 9,724 | $98,163 | $472,962 |
| 12 | Youngsville | 11.43 | 3,011 | $86,528 | $410,704 |
| 13 | Wendell | 11.64 | 13,064 | $95,787 | $369,603 |
| 14 | Clayton | 13.14 | 29,320 | $78,822 | $364,742 |
| 15 | Raleigh | 13.64 | 481,031 | $85,395 | $433,996 |
| 16 | Durham | 14.86 | 291,467 | $81,619 | $396,395 |
| 17 | Archer Lodge | 15.43 | 5,186 | $91,188 | $377,862 |
| 18 | Garner | 15.57 | 34,473 | $78,756 | $384,100 |
| 19 | Lillington | 17.14 | 4,709 | $81,760 | $290,910 |
| 20 | Angier | 18.43 | 6,241 | $52,214 | $333,903 |
| 21 | Creedmoor | 19.79 | 4,997 | $82,961 | $342,137 |
| 22 | Franklinton | 20.14 | 2,645 | $59,464 | $361,642 |
| 23 | Zebulon | 20.50 | 8,711 | $79,112 | $341,721 |
| 24 | Sanford | 22.29 | 31,478 | $57,586 | $291,206 |
| 25 | Butner | 23.07 | 8,065 | $74,739 | $273,631 |
| 26 | Wilson’s Mills | 24.43 | 2,753 | $62,813 | $281,562 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 26 suburbs within 30 miles of Cary.
Summary
Summary: Welcome to the Best Cary ‘Burbs of 2026
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Cary are Apex, Morrisville, Holly Springs, Wake Forest, Fuquay-Varina, Rolesville, Knightdale, Pittsboro, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill.
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Cary but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Suburbs Of Cary FAQs
What is the best suburb of Cary?
Apex is the best suburb of Cary for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Morrisville and Holly Springs are next.
What are the best suburbs of Cary?
The best suburbs of Cary are Apex, Morrisville, Holly Springs, Wake Forest, Fuquay-Varina, Rolesville, Knightdale, Pittsboro, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill. We ranked all 26 places within commuting range.
How expensive is Apex?
The median household income in Apex is $144,135 and the median home costs $599,085. Top suburbs rarely come cheap; that is part of how they got there.
What counts as a suburb of Cary?
Any place within 30 miles of Cary qualifies. 26 towns fit that circle, and every one of them got scored.
How do you rank Cary suburbs?
Each suburb is scored on income, home values, density, unemployment, education, insurance coverage, and poverty, using Census American Community Survey data. The best combined score, Apex, takes the crown.
