For Immediate Release
July 12, 2010

Cary Makes the Cut: Town Listed in Money Magazine's Top 25 Best Places to Live

CARY, NC – Cary, North Carolina has been named the best place to live in the Southeastern United States out of more than 100 cities nationwide by Money Magazine.  Cary is the only North Carolina community to make the Money Magazine Top 25 list; Chapel Hill, ranked at 40, was the only other North Carolina community in the top 100. Factors affecting the rankings included median income, population growth, unemployment rates, the cost of residential housing relative to local income levels, and percent of college educated working professionals.  This is Cary’s fourth appearance on the Money Magazine Best Places to Live list in just eight years; the town has also been previously recognized by Forbes, and Frommer’s to name a few.

“Recognition is due to our residents, our Town staff and our partners--the Cary Chamber and our neighboring municipalities--who all work together to make great things happen in our area,” said Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht. “Moving forward, we want to make sure we continue to do those things necessary to make us worthy of this sort of recognition, and above all, keep Cary the kind of place our citizens want it to be.”

The New York City publication’s pronouncement comes on the heels of Cary’s being designated a gold-level Fit Community by the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission.  Cary is just one of six municipalities to be named an NCAA Championship City, and earlier this year, Cary joined an elite group of governments to hold Triple A ratings for both its general obligation and revenue bonds from all three leading New York investment firms- Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s. The Town of Cary is a perennial recipient of the Government Finance Officers award for Distinguished Budget Presentation, demonstrating the highest principles of governmental budgeting.

With more than 6,000 businesses calling Cary home—including the world’s largest privately held software company, SAS--the Town boasts nationally accredited police, fire, and parks, recreation, and cultural resources department, and Cary leads the state in environmental protection and preservation initiatives including water conservation, water reuse/reclaimed water, and open space and historic resources preservation.

For more details, see the CNN/MONEY MAGAZINE article. For more information about Cary, NC, visit the Town of Cary’s Web site, www.townofcary.org.

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Deanna Boone, Deputy Public Information Officer, (919) 462-3908
Susan Moran, Public Information Director, (919) 460-4951