Research / Rent vs. buy / North Carolina / Cary

Rent or buy in Cary?
Renting is $2,573 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Cary costs $2,573 less a month than owning it. Even counting equity and price growth, buying does not come out ahead of renting and investing the difference within 30 years under our baseline assumptions.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 313 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$4,347typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,774Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks even30+ years3.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$142,516$619,636 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$173,891vs. $70,960 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Cary home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $404 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Cary is $134,905 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 39% of it; renting would take 16%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA area is $2,103 a month, still $2,244 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $3,308
  • Property tax $369
  • Home insurance $154
  • Maintenance $516

How long you would need to stay.

Net worth of a buyer compared with a renter who invests the down payment, closing costs and any monthly savings at 6% a year. Home values and rents grow 3.5% a year; selling costs 6%.

Change the assumptions

Buying vs. renting in Cary, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $104,098
5 yearsRenting ahead by $142,070
7 yearsRenting ahead by $185,330
10 yearsRenting ahead by $261,621
15 yearsRenting ahead by $425,878
20 yearsRenting ahead by $649,986
30 yearsRenting ahead by $1,363,771

Rent or buy elsewhere in North Carolina.

Other large North Carolina cities in the study.

All cities
CharlotteRenting $1,071/mo cheaperRaleighRenting $1,485/mo cheaperGreensboroRenting $592/mo cheaperDurhamRenting $1,170/mo cheaperWinston-SalemRenting $461/mo cheaperFayettevilleRenting $360/mo cheaperWilmingtonRenting $1,267/mo cheaperHigh PointRenting $525/mo cheaper

More on Cary

See the full Cary rental market profile with Census medians, or check how a typical rental performs for an investor in our cash-flow ranking.

How we calculated this

Price is the Zillow Home Value Index and rent the Zillow Observed Rent Index for Cary. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 0.71% effective rate (Census ACS), the North Carolina average homeowners premium (NAIC 2023) and 1% yearly maintenance. It leaves out income-tax effects, HOA dues and utilities. The typical rental may be smaller than the typical home for sale. Full methodology. This is a citywide estimate, not advice about a specific home.