2026  2025  2024

2026 

• Home to Forbes Five-Star Award restaurant, Herons – Forbes Travel Guide, May
• Home to Forbes Five-Star Award hotel resort, the Umstead Hotel and Spa – Forbes Travel Guide, May 
• Ranked #1 of 24 Best Places to Live in North Carolina in 2026–2027 – U.S. News & World Report, May
• Ranked #5 of 25 Best Medium-Sized Cities to Live in the U.S. in 2026–2027 – U.S. News & World Report, May
• Ranked #11 of 250 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2026–2027 – U.S. News & World Report, May
• Ranked #51 of 250 Best Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2026–2027 – U.S. News & World Report, May
• Named to the 11 Most Hospitable Towns in North Carolina list – World Atlas, May
• Home to OpenTable's Top 100 Brunch Restaurants in the Country for 2026 - Herons at The Umstead Hotel and Spa – OpenTable, April
• Downtown Cary Park ranks 3rd most innovative companies in real estate and urban development in 2026 (OJB Architects) – Fast Company, March
• Named to the 12 Best Places to live in the United States list – Vanguard, March
• Cary reaches 100 miles of greenways – March
• Raleigh-Cary ranks #5 best market where real estate investment pays off for millennials out of 73 U.S. metros – Trust & Will study, March
• Ranked 18th among the 317 largest U.S. cities for the highest share of residents aged 55-65 – SmartAsset, March
• Raleigh-Cary metro ranks 3rd best in the United States for women-owned firms – CoworkingCafe, March
• The Cary Fire Department earned its 6th international accreditation, placing it among just 334 agencies worldwide that have successfully completed this rigorous review – Commission on Fire Accreditation International, March
• Named to The 7 Best Cities to Live in 2026: Best city for growing families list – Homelight, March
• Downtown Cary Park's "The Nest" placed #2 on USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Public Playground – USA Today 10 Best, March
• Home to Forbes’ Best midsize company to work for in NC - #1 Epic Games – Forbes, February
• The Downtown Cary Park design was selected for the Innovative Park design award at the 2025 American Architecture Awards – American Architecture Awards
• Selected by Lenovo and Duke Health as the site to design a “hospital of the future," slated to open in three years – Pulse HealthTech Videos, February  
• Named one of the 8 U.S. Cities Young Families Are Flocking to in 2026 – Yahoo!Life, February
• Diavolo at New Hope was named the most popular disc golf course in North Carolina by UDisc for 2025 – UDisc, February
• Raleigh-Cary metro ranks #5 in the Best-Performing Cities Index of 403 US metro areas in 2026 (Resilience in a Cooling Economy) – Milken Institute, January
• Ranked #5 of The Top 10 Best-Performing Large Cities in the U.S. (Raleigh-Cary) – U.S. News & World Report: Here Are the ‘Best-Performing’ Cities in the U.S., January
• Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina, is the highest ranked large city with a population of over 1 million at fifth place.
• Ranked #3 of the Top 10 Picture-Perfect Small Towns In North Carolina – My Family Travels , January

Niche Rankings (2026)

• #1 Best Place to Live in North Carolina (of 513)
• #1 Best Suburb to Live in North Carolina (of 187)
• #2 Best Place to Raise a Family in North Carolina (of 513)
• #2 Best Suburb to Raise a Family in North Carolina (of 187)
• #4 Best Suburb for Young Professionals in North Carolina (of 187)
• #6 Places with the Best Public Schools in North Carolina (of 357)
• #6 Suburbs with the Best Public Schools in North Carolina (of 187) 
• #1 Best Place to Live in the Raleigh Area (of 31)
• #1 Best Suburb to Live in the Raleigh Area (of 29)
• #2 Best Place to Raise a Family in the Raleigh Area (of 31)
• #2 Best Suburb to Raise a Family in the Raleigh Area (of 29)
• #1 Best Place to Live in Wake County (of 12)
• #1 Best Suburb to Live in Wake County (of 11)
• #2 Best Place for Young Professionals in Wake County (of 12)
• #2 Best Place to Raise a Family in Wake County (of 12)
• #2 Place with the Best Public Schools in Wake County (of 12)
• #2 Best Suburb for Young Professionals in Wake County (of 11)
• #2 Best Suburb to Raise a Family in Wake County (of 11)
• #2 Suburbs with the Best Public Schools in Wake County (of 11)
• #33 Best Suburb to Live in America (of 6,807)
• #80 Best Place to Live in America (of 18,104)

2025

• A must-stop on your North Carolina Research Triangle tour – Southern Living, December
• Downtown Cary Park ranks #4 on the Top Must-Visit Places in North Carolina list – Only In Your State, December
• Ranked #19 of 25 Best East Coast Cities to Retire in 2026 – GoBankingRates, December
• Ranked #4 of 215 best municipality in America for Remote Workers – CoworkingCafe: America’s Best Cities for Telecommuting, November
• Named one of the 10 top places to live, work and play in the southeast U.S. – Livability, October
• Ranked #13 of 25 Safest Cities in America for Trick-or-Treating – SafeHome.org, October
• Downtown Cary Park was the winner of the 2025 Innovation by Design Awards in the Urban Design category – Fast Company
• Ranked #3 of 5 NC Cities that are perfect if you are a remote worker (2025) – Bethel Advocate
• Ranked #15 on the Best Suburbs to Live in America list in 2025 – Niche.com
• Ranked #10 on the Top Metros for New Housing Construction list (2025) – Realtor.com
• Ranked #5 of 10 of Southern Cities with the hottest housing markets (2025) – Realtor.com
• Ranked #4 of 11 of Charming Southern Towns Perfect for Retirees (2025) – FinanceBuzz
• Ranked #2 of 300 Best Real Estate Markets in the U.S. (2025) – WalletHub
• Named to the Top 25 Best Places to Live in the Southeast list (2025) – Livability
• Ranked #23 of 859 in Safest Places to Live in America (2025 – 2026) – U.S. News & World Report
• Ranked #1 metro for employment opportunities and earning potential – Checkr
• Ranked #19 of 25 LinkedIn Cities on the Rise (inaugural listing) The 25 fastest-growing U.S. metros for jobs and new talent – LinkedIn
• Ranked #15 of 100 Best Midsize Cities for First-Time Home Buyers; #35 of 300 Best Cities for First-Time Home Buyers – WalletHub
• Ranked #6 of 150 MSAs most educated cities in U.S. – WalletHub
• Named America’s Best Place to Retire – The Travel
• Ranked #4 of 10 safest driving cities in the U.S. – Allstate’s 2025 America’s Best Drivers Report
• Named the Top 5 Large Metros list - Best Business Climate: Metros that Work – Business Facilities
• Named one of the Hottest Destinations to Vacation with Kids – USA Today / FamilyVacationist.com
• Named One of the Top Cities for Education – GreatSchools.org
• Ranked in the top 5% for Job Market Strength Nationally – U.S. News & World Report
• Ranked #27 of 859 in College Readiness Nationally – U.S. News & World Report
• The largest municipality by population in the top 25 Best Places to Live in America – U.S. News & World Report
• Ranked #4 of 25 Best Medium-Sized Cities to Live in America – U.S. News & World Report
• Ranked #1 of 552 Best Places to Live in North Carolina – U.S. News & World Report
• Ranked #5 of 859 Best Places to Live in America – U.S. News & World Report
• Ranked #1 Place to Retire in the U.S. for Affordability and Perfect Weather – GoBankingRates
• Downtown Cary Park's The Nest ranked #1 USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards Best Public Playground

Niche Rankings (2025)

• #1 Best Place to Live in North Carolina (of 509)
• #1 Best Place to Raise a Family in North Carolina (of 509)
• #1 Best Suburb to Live in North Carolina (of 185)
• #1 Best Suburb to Raise a Family in North Carolina (of 185)
• #1 Best Place to Live in the Raleigh Area (of 31)
• #1 Best Place to Raise a Family in the Raleigh Area (of 31)
• #1 Best Suburb to Live in the Raleigh Area (of 29)
• #1 Best Suburb to Raise a Family in the Raleigh Area (of 29)
• #1 Best Place to Live in Wake County (of 12)
• #1 Best Place to Raise a Family in Wake County (of 12)
• #3 Best Suburb for Young Professionals in North Carolina (of 185)
• #6 Best Public Schools in North Carolina (of 355)
• #6 Best Suburb for Public Schools in North Carolina (of 185)
• #33 Best Suburb to Buy a House in North Carolina (of 185)
• #39 Best Place for Young Professionals in North Carolina (of 509)
• #51 Most Diverse Suburb in North Carolina (of 185)
• #54 Best Place to Retire in North Carolina (of 355)
• #61 Best Place to Buy a House in North Carolina (of 508)
• #173 Most Diverse Place to Live in North Carolina (of 509)

2024

• Organics Diversion Program of the Year recipient – U.S. Composting Council
• Ranked #7 Most Educated City in the U.S. – WalletHub, July
• Ranked #7 Most Attractive Mid-Sized U.S. City for College Grads to Start a Career – CoworkingCafe, June
• Ranked #15 Friendliest City in the South – Southern Living, May
• Ranked #3 Best Job Market in the U.S. – SmartAsset, May
• Ranked #1 Best City for Renters – USA Today, April
• Ranked #2 Best Place to Live in the Southeast – Livability, May
• Ranked #5 Best City to Move to In North Carolina – USA Today, April
• Ranked #8 The South’s Best Cities on The Rise – Southern Living, March
• Ranked #1 Best City in the U.S. for Renters – USA Today, February
• Ranked #1 City with the Most People Working from Home – SmartAsset, January
• Ranked #18 among the Top U.S. Cities Most People Moved to – Yahoo Finance, April
• The Umstead Hotel & Spa ranked #1 hotel in North Carolina – U.S. News & World Report

CBRE Research - Life Sciences & Medtech (2024)

• #2 Top U.S. Market for Density of Core Life Sciences R&D Occupations
• #6 Top U.S. Market for Life Sciences R&D Talent
• #6 Top U.S. Market for Number of Biological/Chemical Technicians as % of all Occupations
• #8 Top U.S. Market for Number of Core Life Sciences R&D Occupations
• #9 Top U.S. Market for Total Degrees/Certificates Awarded in Biomedical & Biological Sciences
• #10 Top U.S. Market for Medtech Talent

Raleigh-Cary Metro (2024)

• #1 Top Metro for Career Growth – moveBudha, March
• #2 Metro for Remote Work in the U.S. – DesignRush, March
• #2 U.S. Metro for Women in Tech – CoworkingCafe, February
• #4 Very Large U.S. Metro for Overall Geographic Inclusion Index (10-year) – Brookings Institute, March
• #2 Very Large U.S. Metro for Overall Growth Index (10-year) – Brookings Institute, March
• #6 Very Large U.S. Metro for Overall Prosperity Index (10-year) – Brookings Institute, March
• #16 Best Hospital in the U.S. (Duke University Hospital, Durham) – Newsweek, February
• #18 and #21 Best Colleges for Future Leaders (Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill) – TIME, March