Cary is the seventh-largest city in North Carolina, with 165,000 residents in Wake County, about 10 miles west of downtown Raleigh · Updated November 2026
Is Cary, NC safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Cary has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 64% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Cary run from A+ to B+, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 893 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
64% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Cary as a whole, and 36% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Cary scores 893.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Cary, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Cary, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Cary
Aggravated assaults and robberies both run low. In Cary, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.53 aggravated assaults and 0.14 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 0.62 nationally.
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Cary, 51% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Cary
Every part of Cary where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Cary run from A+ to B+; 87% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Cary, the west side has the least crime and the east side the most.
Is crime going up in Cary?
Since 2019, reported property crime in Cary is up 42%, while violent crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 0.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 9.3 to 13 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 33%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
CaryUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Cary. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Cary
Violent, US
Property, Cary
Property, US
2016
+34%
+4%
+11%
+15%
2017
+7%
+4%
+17%
+12%
2018
+7%
+0%
+8%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
+4%
-8%
2021
+10%
+6%
+5%
-10%
2022
+17%
+5%
+19%
-6%
2023
+53%
+2%
+34%
-7%
2024
+3%
-4%
+42%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Cary
CrimeGrade™ estimates Cary has about 21 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% less than the US as a whole and 48% less than North Carolina.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Cary is theft, about 56% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Cary
Cary has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Cary, 60% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 50% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (60%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (44%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (56%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Cary compares with nearby cities
Cary has more crime than 4 of its 7 nearest cities. New Hill and Fuquay-Varina have the least crime nearby.
Cary looks like a typical city on the traits that tend to go with crime.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.58 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 73% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 68% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 85% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 55% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Cary: D- (12 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 66% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 62% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.5.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 55% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Cary on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Cary
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Cary about $507 a year per household, 58% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $32 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $82 million a year, or $499 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$5.8 million
$35
Rape
$720,000
$4
Robbery
$700,000
$4
Assault
$7.8 million
$47
Burglary
$1.4 million
$8
Theft
$9.9 million
$60
Vehicle theft
$3.1 million
$19
Arson
$170,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.3 million
$14
Total
$32 million
$193
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Cary means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Cary, NC average a SchoolGrade of A+: 72% of students test proficient, against 62% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Cary on SchoolGrade
