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Cary is a thriving community in the heart of the Triangle area of North Carolina, between Raleigh and renowned Research Triangle Park. The Triangle area repeatedly has ranked among the top regions in the country to live or work, to find a home or start a business, and to raise a family or retire.
The January 2004 issue of Money Magazine names Cary, N.C. the hottest town in the East and one of six Hottest Towns in America.
No further than 20 minutes from universities such as Duke, North Carolina State, and the University of North Carolina, education is an intregal part of the lives of those who reside in Cary. Cary schools have produced consistently high test scores.
Cary ranked the 10th safest of 369 large cities nationally and the safest in the South during 2005.
Its little wonder that Cary is tremendously popular. Its clean environment, beautifully landscaped roadsides, strict zoning and building regulations and lack of advertising billboards or aging shopping areas, all explain the wonderful quality of life.
Cary's proximity to Raleigh, Research Traingle Park, shopping and entertainment make it an extremely convenient place to live.
All of these reasons explain why Cary has led the area in growth, income, sales and many other demographics.
Entertainment and recreation, which includes outstanding golf, is abdundant. The Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival (believed by many to be the largest of its kind in the southeast) is among the unique events which take place throughout the year.
If you're looking for a vibrant, fast moving environment, then Cary is where you want to be. Cary is a residential and commercial center with over 110, 000 people, many of who work in the Raleigh/Durham/RTP area.
Livability - Tree-lined streets and well-groomed subdivisions and office parks show Cary has grown the right way.
Vibrancy - Cary is home to world class businesses and national retail stores. Our fast-growing Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources program has something for everyone, regardless of age or interest.
Diversity - School-age children comprise nearly a quarter of Cary's population. Yet people of retirement age are the fastest-growing group in Cary. Fourteen percent of townspeople were born in another country, and the Asian population - Cary's largest minority - tripled during the 1990s.
A progressive approach to challenge - Cary is proactive. We're conserving drinking water by reclaiming treated wastewater for irrigation and industrial processes, preserving open space, and working with citizens and county leaders to make our schools even better.
Yet we've remained the Town of Cary while growing to more than 100,000 people. At the Town of Cary, our goal is to be the best local government for our size in the Eastern United States and to be recognized for the service that we provide to our citizens and to visitors. So come see us soon.
A settlement called Bradford's Ordinary began in 1750 in what is now Cary. However, the man credited with founding Cary was Allison Francis "Frank" Page, who was its first developer, mayor, postmaster and railroad agent.
Page and his wife, Catherine "Kate" Raboteau Page bought 300 acres here in 1854. He named his development after Samuel Fenton Cary, a prohibition leader from Ohio. Cary was incorporated in 1871, several years after the Seaboard and North Carolina railroads formed a junction in Cary.
Page, whose main business was a sawmill, laid out the first streets of Cary and built a hotel. What became known as the Page-Walker Hotel is now an arts and history center on Town Hall campus. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
One of Frank and Kate Page's sons is Cary's most famous son. Walter Hines Page (1855-1918) was an editor, publisher, social reformer and proponent of public education. He was ambassador to Great Britain during World War I. The British honored him with a tablet in Westminster Abbey.
With development of Research Triangle Park in the 1960s, Cary began to grow as a bedroom community for the park from a quiet town of a few thousand people. Growth escalated during the 1970s, with the population nearly tripling to 21,763. The population doubled during the 1980s, and doubled again during the 1990s.
Cary by the Numbers
114,665 (April 2006)
3.86 percent increase since April 2005
3.11 percent annual population growth rate (April 01, 2001 to April 01, 2006)
Median age - 33.7 years (2000 Census)
- Town of Cary website - www.townofcary.org
Learn more about Cary, North Carolina