More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Cary to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Cary are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Cary ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Cary area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Cary proper, although Apex certainly tries.
We examined the 26 biggest suburbs of Cary to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in North Carolina lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Cary in terms of quality of life.
$62,813 median income · $281,562 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Wilson’s Mills, the absolute worst place to live around Cary according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Wilson’s Mills beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 4th worst in the Cary area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Wilson’s Mills.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
$74,739 median income · $273,631 median home price
Located in
Granville County, North Carolina
Welcome to Butner. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 24.7 miles to Cary. Income levels here are the 5th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $74,739 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$57,586 median income · $291,206 median home price
Located in
Lee County, North Carolina
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Cary suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Sanford on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Cary suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,112 median income · $341,721 median home price
If you live in Zebulon, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 8th lowest Cary suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Cary. Remember, we looked at 26 cities for this study.
Zebulon is about 28.0 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$59,464 median income · $361,642 median home price
Franklinton has the distinction of being a Cary suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Franklinton has the 8th lowest home values in the metro Cary area, where the median price is $361,642. The median income is $149,565.
Franklinton has an unemployment rate of 9.6% which ranks 2nd worst.
$82,961 median income · $342,137 median home price
Creedmoor has 4,997 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 18.2%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$52,214 median income · $333,903 median home price
Ah, Angier. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Cary.
It’s the place with the 7th most out of work residents in the Cary metro area (5.1%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$81,760 median income · $290,910 median home price
Lillington is a city about 26.5 miles from Cary, but Cary probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Lillington has the 13th most uninsured people, 11th worst incomes, and has the 13th highest unemployment rate (3.9%) in the entire Cary metro area.
Homes only cost $290,910 for a reason. That’s cheap for Cary standards.
Data | Movers
$78,756 median income · $384,100 median home price
Located in
Wake County, North Carolina
If you absolutely have to live near Cary, then Garner might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Cary suburb.
About 6.2% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$91,188 median income · $377,862 median home price
Rounding out the ten worst Cary suburbs to call home is Archer Lodge.
Located 25.7 miles outside the city, Archer Lodge is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 26th highest unemployment rate (0.0%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
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 worst Cary suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Cary for 2026
To figure out how bad a Cary suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Cary.
We also limited the analysis to places with 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 worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Cary.” We’re looking at you, Wilson’s Mills.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Cary.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Cary Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilson’s Mills | 2.57 | 2,753 | $62,813 | $281,562 |
| 2 | Butner | 3.93 | 8,065 | $74,739 | $273,631 |
| 3 | Sanford | 4.71 | 31,478 | $57,586 | $291,206 |
| 4 | Zebulon | 6.50 | 8,711 | $79,112 | $341,721 |
| 5 | Franklinton | 6.86 | 2,645 | $59,464 | $361,642 |
| 6 | Creedmoor | 7.21 | 4,997 | $82,961 | $342,137 |
| 7 | Angier | 8.57 | 6,241 | $52,214 | $333,903 |
| 8 | Lillington | 9.86 | 4,709 | $81,760 | $290,910 |
| 9 | Garner | 11.43 | 34,473 | $78,756 | $384,100 |
| 10 | Archer Lodge | 11.57 | 5,186 | $91,188 | $377,862 |
| 11 | Durham | 12.14 | 291,467 | $81,619 | $396,395 |
| 12 | Raleigh | 13.36 | 481,031 | $85,395 | $433,996 |
| 13 | Clayton | 13.86 | 29,320 | $78,822 | $364,742 |
| 14 | Wendell | 15.36 | 13,064 | $95,787 | $369,603 |
| 15 | Youngsville | 15.57 | 3,011 | $86,528 | $410,704 |
| 16 | Hillsborough | 15.64 | 9,724 | $98,163 | $472,962 |
| 17 | Chapel Hill | 15.71 | 61,607 | $85,989 | $631,167 |
| 18 | Carrboro | 15.86 | 21,204 | $85,743 | $429,675 |
| 19 | Pittsboro | 17.43 | 4,752 | $81,639 | $548,636 |
| 20 | Knightdale | 18.00 | 20,214 | $103,220 | $370,204 |
| 21 | Rolesville | 19.50 | 10,766 | $149,565 | $497,996 |
| 22 | Fuquay-Varina | 19.64 | 40,485 | $115,497 | $525,746 |
| 23 | Wake Forest | 19.86 | 52,844 | $123,802 | $512,161 |
| 24 | Holly Springs | 20.71 | 45,248 | $135,578 | $579,090 |
| 25 | Morrisville | 22.14 | 31,422 | $125,396 | $480,926 |
| 26 | Apex | 23.00 | 70,630 | $144,135 | $599,085 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 26 suburbs within 30 miles of Cary.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Cary where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Cary with Wilson’s Mills casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Cary are Wilson’s Mills, Butner, Sanford, Zebulon, Franklinton, Creedmoor, Angier, Lillington, Garner, and Archer Lodge.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Cary aren’t all bad. Apex takes the cake as the best place to live around Cary. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Cary FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Cary?
Wilson’s Mills ranks as the worst suburb around Cary for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Butner and Sanford are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Cary?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Cary are Wilson’s Mills, Butner, Sanford, Zebulon, Franklinton, Creedmoor, Angier, Lillington, Garner, and Archer Lodge. We scored all 26 places within 30 miles.
Why does Wilson’s Mills rank as the worst suburb?
Wilson’s Mills posts the roughest combined numbers of the 26 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $62,813, a median home value of $281,562, and a poverty rate of 31.9%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Cary?
Apex lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Cary by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Cary list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
