Cary vs Silver Spring
The short version
- Cary is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 10% lower than in the Silver Spring area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $580,200 in Cary and $643,300 in Silver Spring.
- Households earn more in Cary ($134,905 vs $99,860 median).
- Cary has the warmer winter: January highs of 52°F vs 45°F.
- Silver Spring gets far more snow: 14 inches a year vs 5.
- Cary is growing faster: +5% since 2020 vs +0%.
- Commutes are shorter in Cary (23 vs 34 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Cary, NC | Silver Spring, MD | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 183,582 | 81,462 |
| Growth since 2020 | +5% | n/a |
| People per square mile | 3,011 | 10,334 |
| Median age | 40.2 | 35.6 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 71% | 61% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $134,905 | $99,860 |
| Median home value | $580,200 | $643,300 |
| Home value to income | 4.3× | 6.4× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,738 | $1,913 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 98.2 | 108.9 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 103.5 | 151.1 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $73,600 | $81,700 |
| Homeowners | 67% | 38% |
| Top state income tax | 3.99% | 6.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.1% | 6% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 22.5 | 34.0 |
| Work from home | 37% | 27% |
| Take public transit | 0% | 14% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 3.5% | 5.4% |
| Poverty rate | 5.7% | 10.6% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 52° / 32° | 45° / 30° |
| July high / low | 91° / 70° | 90° / 72° |
| Precipitation per year | 46 in | 42 in |
| Snowfall per year | 5 in | 14 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 52 | 40 |
| Nights below freezing | 65 | 60 |
| Comfortable months | 3 | 5 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively Moderate |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 95.5 | 91.7 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 66% | 59% |
| Home prices, past year | +1.1% | +1.3% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +44.9% | +29.4% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Cary: April to May and October. Silver Spring: April to June and September to October.
Full monthly tables: Cary weather by month and Silver Spring weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $73,600 in Cary and $81,700 in Silver Spring. Moving from Cary to Silver Spring, you would need about $83,200 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Cary and Silver Spring
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Cary and Silver Spring.
Which would you pick?
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