Money Magazine: Best places to retire 2006: Cary, NC snapshot

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Winners

Cary, NC Best Places to Live Top 100 rank: 5 Population: 106,400 Population, age 50+: 23,767 Population growth, age 50+: 34.40%
Taxes
	City stats
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	8.25%^*
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	6.00%^*
Retirement tax break from state?	No
State property taxes	Below average
Sales tax	7.00%
State gas tax (cents per gallon)	29.9***
Housing
	City stats
Median home price	$256,900
Home price gain (2004-2005)	4.80%
Financial
	City stats
Median household income (per year)	$80,056
Auto insurance premiums (Average for the state)	$2,203
Quality of life
	City stats
Air quality index (% of days AQI ranked as good)	55.6%
Personal crime risk (100 is nat'l average; lower is better)	39
Property crime risk (100 is nat'l average; lower is better)	79
Personal crime incidents (per 100,000)	93
Property crime incidents (per 100,000)	2,006
Leisure and culture
	City stats
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	11
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	1,900
Bars (within 15 miles)	58
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	43
Libraries (within 15 miles)	27
Museums (accredited by AAM within 30 miles)	5
Colleges, universities and professional schools	6
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	0
Weather
	City stats
Annual precipitation (inches)	46.49
Clear days	111
High temp in July ° F	87.9°
Low temp in Jan ° F	30.1°
Health***
	City stats
Hospitals (within 30 miles)	42
Doctors' offices	596
Body mass index (avg. for residents)	26
Cancer mortality (per 100,000, age-adjusted)	189.5
Cardiac mortality (per 100,000)	231.9
Meet the neighbors
	City stats
Median age	33.7
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	63.1%
Married	60.8%
Divorced	7.3%

*Income tax notes:
These states allow personal exemption or standard deductions as provided in the IRC. Utah allows a personal exemption equal to three-fourths the federal exemptions.
The tax brackets reported are for single individuals. For married taxpayers, the same rates apply to income brackets ranging from $21,250 to $200,000. Lower exemption amounts allowed for high income taxpayers. Tax rate scheduled to decrease after tax year 2007.
**Gas tax notes:
The gas tax is indexed for inflation in Nebraska, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. North Carolina's indexed rate is revised every six months. ***County data

Data: OnBoard, FORTUNE. Details

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Additional data and consulting services provided by Bert Sperling's bestplaces.net.

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