Carpenter is a historic crossroads area in northwest Cary, between N.C. 55 and Louis Stephens Drive, mostly in ZIP code 27519 and zoned for Green Hope High.
Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Sources: the Town of Cary’s Historic Carpenter Special Planning Area plan in the Imagine Cary Community Plan and its residential boundaries data, the Wake County Public School System’s 2026-27 attendance areas and base school lookup, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 accountability data, GoTriangle and GoCary schedule data, OpenStreetMap and Zillow Research.
Carpenter is the old farm crossroads in northwest Cary, now ringed by newer neighborhoods. The town’s Historic Carpenter Special Planning Area plan says it “began as an agricultural community in the 19th Century” and by the early 20th century had general stores, a post office, a farm supply store, a farmers’ co-op and churches around the Carpenter Crossroads, where Carpenter Upchurch Road meets the old Morrisville-Carpenter Road. “Carpenter is unique among small Wake County communities in that it retains its rural crossroads character and never grew much beyond it,” the plan says. Most of the area is in ZIP code 27519.
What this means for you
- Zoned high school: Green Hope High for most homes, 84.2% of state tests at grade level in 2025-26, according to the state’s accountability data. Check an address with the district’s base school lookup.
- Home value: $695,323 in ZIP code 27519 in August 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
- Nearest freeway exit: N.C. 540 Exit 64 at Morrisville Parkway, about 1.7 miles by road.
Part of our Cary neighborhoods guide.
Where it is
The plan draws the area “immediately southwest of the Cary-Morrisville border, a scant one mile south of Research Triangle Park at its closest point.” It “begins immediately east of NC Highway 55, and extends eastward to just past Louis Stephens Drive,” with the planned extension of McCrimmon Parkway as the northern edge and Morrisville Parkway as the southern edge. Carpenter Village, a mixed-use development that “began as 411 acres of farm and forest in 1995” and now has “over 1,000 residential units,” defines the eastern edge. The Olde Carpenter neighborhood was built from 2006 to 2009, Carpenter Elementary in 2004 and the West Regional Library on Louis Stephens Road in 2005, according to the plan.
The Carpenter Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The town designated the Carpenter Farm Supply Store and the Farmers’ Cooperative and Meeting Hall as Cary Landmarks in 2010 and bought the A. M. Howard Farm, with its farmhouse and outbuildings. OpenStreetMap also names Carpenter as a place.
The town’s residential boundaries data lists 11 neighborhoods with Carpenter in the name, including Carpenter Village, Legacy at Carpenter Village, Olde Carpenter and Carpenter Grove. Ten are in ZIP code 27519 and one has a Morrisville 27560 address.
Schools
Carpenter is in the Wake County Public School System. We checked the middle of each of the 11 Carpenter-named neighborhoods against the district’s 2026-27 attendance areas:
- Seven were zoned for Carpenter Elementary, Alston Ridge Middle and Green Hope High.
- Two were zoned for Green Hope Elementary, Davis Drive Middle and Green Hope High.
- One was zoned for Davis Drive Elementary, Davis Drive Middle and Green Hope High.
- One was zoned for Carpenter Elementary, Alston Ridge Middle and Panther Creek High.
Check your own address in the district’s base school lookup. Scores are the share of state tests at grade level or above in 2025-26 and the state’s growth rating, from the accountability data.
| Level | School | At grade level | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary | Carpenter Elementary, 2100 Morrisville Parkway | 78.8% | Met |
| Elementary | Green Hope Elementary, 2700 Louis Stephens Drive | 84.4% | Exceeded |
| Elementary | Davis Drive Elementary, 2151 Davis Drive | 90.2% | Exceeded |
| Middle | Alston Ridge Middle, 7833 Fussell Ave. | 77.5% | Exceeded |
| Middle | Davis Drive Middle, 2101 Davis Drive | 88.1% | Exceeded |
| High | Green Hope High, 2500 Carpenter Upchurch Road | 84.2% | Exceeded |
| High | Panther Creek High, 6770 McCrimmon Parkway | 81.8% | Exceeded |
The district average was 68.2%. More in our schools guide.
Home values
Zillow publishes no figure for Carpenter alone. The Zillow Home Value Index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price.
| Area | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZIP code 27519 | $695,323 | $711,245 | -2.2% |
| Town of Cary, for comparison | $619,636 | $628,603 | -1.4% |
Trends are on our home prices page.
Parks and trails
- Carpenter Park, 4420 Louis Stephens Drive, is inside the area.
- Cary Tennis Park, 2727 Louis Stephens Drive, and Green Hope Elementary Park, 2750 Louis Stephens Drive, are about 1.3 miles southeast of the crossroads, according to OpenStreetMap.
- Carpenter Fire Station Road Park, 7119 Carpenter Fire Station Road, has a dog park that needs no pass; see our parks and trails guide.
- Sears Farm Road Park, 5077 Sears Farm Road, is about 1.5 miles south.
- Greenways mapped on OpenStreetMap include the White Oak Creek, Green Hope School and Hatcher Creek greenways.
More in our walking and biking trails guide.
Getting around
- N.C. 540 (Triangle Expressway, toll): Exit 64 at Morrisville Parkway is about 1.7 miles by road from the Carpenter place point near N.C. 55; Exit 66 at N.C. 55 is about 1.9 miles.
- Downtown Cary (316 N. Academy St.): about 6.5 miles by road.
- Raleigh-Durham International Airport: about 6.5 miles by road.
- Buses: GoTriangle Route 311 stops on N.C. 55 at Indian Wells Road, at the area’s west edge. GoCary Route 4 (High House) stops on High House Road, about two miles south, according to the agencies’ published schedule data. See GoTriangle and GoCary.
Distances were measured with the OSRM routing engine on OpenStreetMap roads. They are distances, not drive times. More in our getting around guide.
Groceries and everyday stores
OpenStreetMap lists these about a mile east, on Davis Drive:
- Supermarkets: Wegmans, 3710 Davis Drive; Walmart Neighborhood Market, 3560 Davis Drive.
- Pharmacy: Walgreens, 3601 Davis Drive.
- Shopping center: Morrisville Market.
How we built this page
The boundary and history come from the town’s Historic Carpenter Special Planning Area plan; the neighborhood list comes from the town’s residential boundaries data. School zones come from the district’s attendance-area map for 2026-27, checked at the middle of each neighborhood; a home near a zone line can differ. We found no town or county registry of homeowners associations for Carpenter, so this page does not describe them.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Carpenter in Cary?
The town’s Historic Carpenter Special Planning Area starts just east of N.C. 55 and runs east to just past Louis Stephens Drive, between Morrisville Parkway on the south and the planned McCrimmon Parkway extension on the north.
What high school is Carpenter zoned for?
Ten of the 11 Carpenter-named neighborhoods in the Town of Cary’s data were zoned for Green Hope High in the district’s 2026-27 attendance areas; one was zoned for Panther Creek High.
Is Carpenter a historic district?
Yes. The Carpenter Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, and the town designated the Carpenter Farm Supply Store and the Farmers’ Cooperative and Meeting Hall as Cary Landmarks in 2010.
What is the typical home value in Carpenter?
Zillow publishes no figure for Carpenter alone. Its Home Value Index for ZIP code 27519 was $695,323 in August 2026, down 2.2% from August 2025.
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