Each year, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht delivers the State of Cary address, highlighting the accomplishments, growth, and future of the Town of Cary. He covered dozens of topics on the 18th annual address. Here’s a roundup of some interesting tidbits:
Cary is the second-largest town in the nation behind Gilbert, Arizona. While Cary is the 155th largest municipality in the United States with 188,000 residents, it maintains the moniker “town” as a reflection of small-town values.
500,000 — human visitors to the Downtown Cary Park in 2024, which also welcomed 7,960 dogs. The park hosted 547 programs, 35 tours, and 7 field trips.
30 — parks and natural areas within Cary. Two new parks were added last year: McCrimmon Parkway Park, which has six pickleball courts, six tennis courts, a community garden, public art, a playground, and a shelter with restrooms; and Carpenter Fire Station Park, which features a playground, dog park, basketball courts, two lighted ball fields, and a shelter with restrooms. Dunham Park was renovated and received new playground equipment.
$51.8 billion — Cary’s total assessed value, an increase from $34.8 billion in 2023.
$2.6 million — economic impact of Cary’s first pickleball tournament, one of several major sports championships Cary hosted in 2024.
2.8% — Cary’s unemployment rate, edging out Wake County as a whole at 2.9%, North Carolina at 3.8%, and the United States at 4.1%. Last year Cary added 775 jobs, mostly healthcare, financial services, and IT engineering.
56% — average increase in property value over the last four years.
80 tons — amount of food waste diverted from landfills via Cary’s newest drop-off site, which opened in February at Mills Park. The material is composted and used to support local farming initiatives at Good Hope Farm.
24.7% — proportion of Cary residents born outside the United States.
126 — housing units in Marigold Cary, an affordable housing complex on Maynard Road that broke ground in October 2024. Marigold is expected to open in the spring of 2026. The 2024–2025 Cary Housing and Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Draft Plan calls for construction of an additional 226 new affordable housing units and preservation of 29 existing affordable homes.
2.5 miles — greenway path under construction from Old Reedy Creek Road to West Dynasty Drive under the Black Creek Greenway renovation project. The project is part of the East Coast Greenway stretching from Maine to Florida and is expected to be complete in 2027.
301 — solar panels installed at the USA Baseball National Training Center, which will supply 60% of the facility’s energy needs. Solar is rapidly becoming the standard for new town facilities. Cary also added solar lighting to 35 bus stops, bringing the total to 154 stops with lighting.
2,041 — free native trees distributed to residents in 2024 through the My Tree, Our Tree program, which also secured a $1 million grant for reforestation efforts through the Branching Out project.
99.5% — proportion of residents who rated Cary as “desirable” on the town’s bienneial survey. 97.3% residents reported that they feel safe in Cary.
Want to learn more? Check out the full State of Cary transcript.
Excellent. Proud to be Cary resident