Census-designated place · Onslow County, North Carolina

Half Moon, North Carolina

Half Moon is a census-designated place in Onslow County, North Carolina, part of the Jacksonville, NC metro area. It has 7,378 residents. Half Moon, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 33 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,423 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #262 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on dentists (high), unemployment rate (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), hospital quality rating (low) and public libraries (low).

33Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,423 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #262 of 458 in NC
Population: 7,378 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 998.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3728900

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety32#10,564/15,637
Economy66#5,280/15,631
Housing68#4,813/14,977
Health35#10,214/15,609
Healthcare22#12,262/15,650
Environment63#5,687/15,453
Education48#8,148/15,649
Infrastructure48#8,134/15,650
Community5#14,907/15,651
Leisure & amenities16#13,189/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Half Moon, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Onslow County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Dentists · high109 /100k
93/100North Carolina 62 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOnslow County value
Unemployment rate · low1.3%
89/100North Carolina 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Job growth · high2.1%
89/100North Carolina 0.8%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataOnslow County value
Comfortable days · high32.6%
89/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationOnslow County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.53%
85/100North Carolina 0.66%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.3 µg/m³
85/100North Carolina 7.5 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOnslow County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high98.9
1/100North Carolina 45.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyOnslow County value
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100North Carolina 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesOnslow County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
5/100North Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesOnslow County value
Average weekly wage · low$941
10/100North Carolina $1,376United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOnslow County value
Voter turnout · low54.4%
10/100North Carolina 72.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionOnslow County value
Food environment index · low6.7
10/100North Carolina 6.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOnslow County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
8,243 (2015-2019) → 7,378 (2020-2024)
−10%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
29.7% (2015-2019) → 10.2% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
20.2% (2015-2019) → 7.9% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
20.1% (2015-2019) → 27.0% (2020-2024)
+6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Unemployment rateImproving
7.4% (2015-2019) → 1.3% (2020-2024)
−6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$53,361 (2015-2019) → $68,946 (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Half Moon, North Carolina improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Poverty−12 points20.2% → 7.9%
Child poverty−20 points29.7% → 10.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Half Moon, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.1 min2015-2019	27.5 min2020-2024	+5.4 min	Within the margin of error	9%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.1%2015-2019	27.0%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Broadband subscriptions	93.0%2015-2019	93.1%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Child poverty rate	29.7%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	−20 points	Improved	93%
Effective property tax rate	0.77%2015-2019	0.53%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	65%
High school diploma or higher	92.2%2015-2019	96.4%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	85%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4292015-2019	0.3722020-2024	−0.057	Within the margin of error	87%
Median household income	$53,3612015-2019	$68,9462020-2024	+29%	Within the margin of error	53%
Poverty rate	20.2%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	−12 points	Improved	96%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.7%2015-2019	28.7%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Rent-burdened households	42.7%2015-2019	46.3%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.7%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	46%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Half Moon, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Half Moon, North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Half Moon, North Carolina itself moved +3.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

7,378 residents (±1,196)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,819 households (±351)

Half Moon, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k6.5%†183
$25k–50k31%†860
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,819 households (±351)

Half Moon, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own76%2,140
Rent24%†679

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,488 workers (±659)

Half Moon, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone70%2,455
Carpool17%†593
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Jacksonville, NC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Onslow County, the county holding most of Half Moon's residents.

Onslow County has 3,080 employer establishments, 146 for every 10,000 residents (0.59× the US rate of 248; 0.61× North Carolina's), with 38,655 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,590. The Census Bureau also counts 13,866 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,080; 13,866 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 146; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 38,655
Average annual pay: $37,590; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Onslow County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	342	16.2	0.88×About typical	7,420	$19,592	42
Ambulatory health care services	211	10	0.48×Fewer than typical	2,375	$60,087	449
Lessors of real estate	200	9.5	0.77×Fewer than typical	591	$42,012	1,441
Specialty trade contractors	181	8.6	0.55×Fewer than typical	1,435	$51,066	994
Limited-service restaurants	175	8.3	1.03×About typical	4,063	$18,030	18
Full-service restaurants	129	6.1	0.80×Fewer than typical	2,835	$22,489	15
Construction of buildings	121	5.7	0.76×Fewer than typical	645	$51,355	466
Services to buildings and dwellings	110	5.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	649	$35,766	1,223
Real estate agents and brokers	106	5	1.03×About typical	208	$44,288	653
Religious organizations	101	4.8	0.86×About typical	661	$22,284	—
Building equipment contractors	87	4.1	0.69×Fewer than typical	823	$51,910	180
Automotive repair and maintenance	73	3.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	495	$42,794	225

Rank places for an industry Open Onslow County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 210,955 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Half Moon, North Carolina: $152 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.1M; −56% vs FY2025
Per resident: $152; US $1,994
Sole-source: 7.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 46%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Special Operations Command$887.7K79%
Defense Logistics Agency$66.3K5.9%
Department of the Navy$59.2K5.3%
Department of Veterans Affairs$37.5K3.3%
Defense Commissary Agency$23.5K2.1%
Department of the Army$23.4K2.1%
USTRANSCOM$20.8K1.9%
Federal Acquisition Service$2,1080.2%

Top recipients

THREAT TEC, LLC$382.3K34%
PRESCIENT EDGE CORPORATION$308.6K28%
COASTAL ENTERPRISES OF JACKSONVILLE INC$81.1K7.2%
INTERNATIONAL PREPAREDNESS ASSOCIATES INC$63.1K5.6%
KASTEL ENTERPRISES MK LLC$56.4K5.0%

Spending by fiscal year

1.1MFY2017
860.8KFY2018
2MFY2019
10.7MFY2020
535.7KFY2021
1.7MFY2022
3.7MFY2023
2.3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$734.5K66%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$63.1K5.6%
Consumer goods rental · 5322$56.4K5.0%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$33.2K3.0%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$27.7K2.5%
Other schools and instruction · 6116

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Half Moon, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Half Moon, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Onslow County, NC ($562.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Half Moon is mostly in Onslow County.

See federal money in Onslow County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Half Moon, North Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Gregory F. MurphyR-NC-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 12.9%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Onslow County45100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Jacksonville, NC48

Other cities and towns in Onslow County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3728900

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends