Carpenter is a small unincorporated community located in western Wake County, North Carolina. Carpenter is centered on the intersection of Carpenter-Upchurch Road and Morrisville-Carpenter Road just east of North Carolina Highway 55. Most of Carpenter has been annexed by the Town of Cary. The community was named for William Carpenter, the first settler in the area in 1865 (Powell 1968, p. 89).