Town · New Hanover County, North Carolina

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Wrightsville Beach is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, part of the Wilmington, NC metro area. It has 2,665 residents. Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 89 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,713 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #15 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on food insecurity (low), distance to an airport (low) and lack of reliable transportation (low). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), public libraries (low) and distance to an emergency room (high).

89Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,713 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #15 of 458 in NC
Population: 2,665 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,911.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 3775820

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety19#12,719/15,637
Economy95#714/15,631
Housing56#6,570/14,977
Health76#3,761/15,609
Healthcare77#3,534/15,650
Environment60#6,219/15,453
Education92#1,216/15,649
Infrastructure97#462/15,650
Community79#3,241/15,651
Leisure & amenities98#357/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “New Hanover 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

Food insecurity · low4.7%
100/100North Carolina 15.8%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an airport · low6 mi
100/100North Carolina 30 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauNew Hanover County value
Lack of reliable transportation · low3.6%
100/100North Carolina 8.8%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · low9.3%
99/100North Carolina 19.6%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · low12.6%
99/100North Carolina 24.9%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · high72.5%
97/100North Carolina 35.7%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high97.7
2/100North Carolina 45.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyNew Hanover County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
3/100North Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesNew Hanover County value
Distance to an emergency room · high18.2 mi
4/100North Carolina 7.9 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesNew Hanover County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.8
6/100North Carolina 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationNew Hanover County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.494
12/100North Carolina 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Property crime rate · high2,045 /100k
13/100North Carolina 1,780 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationNew Hanover County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
52.0% (2015-2019) → 39.4% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
30.7% (2015-2019) → 20.0% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$109,013 (2015-2019) → $151,563 (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedWorsening
7.3 /1k (2021) → 4.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−39%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
90.4% (2015-2019) → 96.3% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
9.2% (2015-2019) → 4.0% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved1

Broadband+5.9 points90.4% → 96.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.3 min2015-2019	17.7 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	75.3%2015-2019	72.5%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Broadband subscriptions	90.4%2015-2019	96.3%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Improved	37%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	0.63%2015-2019	0.38%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	67%
High school diploma or higher	97.8%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Home price to income ratio	7.3×2015-2019	7.7×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	55%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5002015-2019	0.4942020-2024	−0.005	Within the margin of error	55%
Median household income	$109,0132015-2019	$151,5632020-2024	+39%	Within the margin of error	72%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wrightsville Beach, 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, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina itself moved +2.3 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

2,665 residents (±411)

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

1,306 households (±223)

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k15%†196
$25k–50k3.2%†42
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,306 households (±223)

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own81%1,055
Rent19%†251

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+11.3 points).

† 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

1,344 workers (±290)

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone69%931
Carpool0.9%†12
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 Wilmington, 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 New Hanover County, the county holding most of Wrightsville Beach's residents.

New Hanover County has 8,710 employer establishments, 363 for every 10,000 residents (1.46× the US rate of 248; 1.53× North Carolina's), with 121,389 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,895. The Census Bureau also counts 25,997 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 8,710; 25,997 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 363; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 121,389
Average annual pay: $58,895; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	714	29.8	1.43×More than typical	9,539	$78,663	1,279
Restaurants and other eating places	685	28.6	1.55×More than typical	14,842	$22,723	94
Lessors of real estate	651	27.1	2.20×More than typical	2,308	$52,686	4,108
Specialty trade contractors	551	23	1.48×More than typical	4,802	$59,733	1,653
Construction of buildings	360	15	1.98×More than typical	2,145	$77,118	752
Full-service restaurants	332	13.8	1.80×More than typical	8,586	$25,335	34
Real estate agents and brokers	326	13.6	2.79×More than typical	577	$46,250	1,178
Management, scientific and technical consulting	271	11.3	1.68×More than typical	1,610	$65,052	1,135
Services to buildings and dwellings	270	11.3	1.67×More than typical	2,235	$42,120	1,453
Offices of other health practitioners	265	11	1.82×More than typical	1,376	$47,383	756
Building equipment contractors	243	10.1	1.68×More than typical	2,355	$57,947	249
Limited-service restaurants	236	9.8	1.23×About typical	4,763	$19,394	33

Rank places for an industry Open New Hanover County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 239,877 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 $27.9K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina: $10.46 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $27.9K; +78% vs FY2025
Per resident: $10.46; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.7%

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$27.6K99%
U.S. Coast Guard$3121.1%

Top recipients

TOM & JERRY, INC.$27.6K99%
MUSTANG SURVIVAL MFG, INC$1,6696.0%
LOCKLEAR AND SON CARPET AND ASBESTOS REMOVAL, LLC$00.0%
BZ CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT LLC$00.0%
ARP RICHARD C III-$1810.0%

Spending by fiscal year

0FY2017
5.4MFY2018
160.3KFY2019
186.5KFY2020
583.8KFY2021
233.2KFY2022
4.8MFY2023
395.5KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other support services · 5619$27.6K99%
Cut and sew apparel manufacturing · 3152$1,6696.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 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 Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina's figures are part of those of New Hanover County, NC ($89M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Wrightsville Beach is mostly in New Hanover County.

See federal money in New Hanover 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.

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

David RouzerR-NC-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.5%

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.

New Hanover County75100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Wilmington, NC81

Other cities and towns in New Hanover 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/3775820

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends