Cary, North Carolina demographics

Cary, NC demographics: median age 40.2; 70.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Cary town, North Carolina · Incorporated town · GEOID 3710740. The survey estimates a population of 179,306 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Cary is 40.2 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.9 years. There are 69,710 households (±1,207). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	40.2 ±0.9	39.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 179,306
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	41,999 ±1,884	23.4% ±1.1 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	34,366 ±1,675	19.2% ±0.9 pp	22.9%	22.8%
35–64	77,600 ±2,216	43.3% ±1.2 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	25,341 ±1,125	14.1% ±0.6 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 179,306
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Male	88,627 ±1,230	49.4% ±0.7 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	90,679 ±1,200	50.6% ±0.7 pp	51.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 179,306
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
White alone	104,480 ±2,640	58.3% ±1.5 pp	61.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	14,084 ±1,471	7.9% ±0.8 pp	20.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	256 ±134 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	36,530 ±1,749	20.4% ±1.0 pp	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	117 ±89 · low precision	0.1% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	6,624 ±1,699	3.7% ±0.9 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	17,215 ±1,805	9.6% ±1.0 pp	8.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 179,306
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	162,189 ±2,212	90.5% ±1.2 pp	88.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	17,117 ±2,208	9.5% ±1.2 pp	11.3%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 69,710
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	42,041 ±1,142	60.3% ±1.3 pp	47.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,457 ±644	3.5% ±0.9 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	4,577 ±495	6.6% ±0.7 pp	12.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	16,356 ±1,134	23.5% ±1.6 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	4,279 ±628	6.1% ±0.9 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 69,710
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	24,282 ±921	34.8% ±1.2 pp	29.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	45,428 ±1,632	65.2% ±2.1 pp	70.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 69,710
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	16,356 ±1,134	23.5% ±1.6 pp	29.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	25,130 ±1,178	36.0% ±1.6 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	11,975 ±927	17.2% ±1.3 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	11,214 ±856	16.1% ±1.2 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	3,193 ±434	4.6% ±0.6 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,260 ±320	1.8% ±0.5 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	582 ±256	0.8% ±0.4 pp	0.9%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 179,306
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Native	136,536 ±1,926	76.1% ±1.1 pp	90.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	42,770 ±1,905	23.9% ±1.1 pp	9.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 170,045
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
English only	124,860 ±2,270	73.4% ±1.3 pp	86.5%	77.7%
Spanish	9,815 ±1,451	5.8% ±0.9 pp	8.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	1,232 ±502	0.7% ±0.3 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	444 ±182	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	1,864 ±515	1.1% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	10,900 ±1,304	6.4% ±0.8 pp	1.2%	2.0%
Korean	1,774 ±546	1.0% ±0.3 pp	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	5,851 ±1,159	3.4% ±0.7 pp	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	635 ±264	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	280 ±156 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	9,117 ±1,282	5.4% ±0.8 pp	0.9%	1.1%
Arabic	1,335 ±595	0.8% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	1,938 ±769	1.1% ±0.5 pp	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 124,185
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	4,533 ±678	3.7% ±0.5 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	9,358 ±846	7.5% ±0.7 pp	24.8%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	14,601 ±1,321	11.8% ±1.1 pp	19.6%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	8,132 ±762	6.5% ±0.6 pp	10.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	45,666 ±1,794	36.8% ±1.3 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	41,895 ±1,707	33.7% ±1.3 pp	13.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 177,414
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	North Carolina	U.S.
Same house	150,488 ±2,489	84.8% ±1.4 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	11,740 ±1,809	6.6% ±1.0 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	3,586 ±928	2.0% ±0.5 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	9,054 ±1,496	5.1% ±0.8 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	2,546 ±914	1.4% ±0.5 pp	0.6%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.9% of Cary residents (±0.5 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.9% in North Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 96.6% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Cary	North Carolina	U.S.	Compared with North Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.9% ±0.5 pp	9.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	96.6% ±2.3 pp	90.1%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	4.6% ±0.4 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Cary . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Cary housing and cost context or return to the city profile.