County · North Carolina
Brunswick County, North Carolina
Brunswick County, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 70 out of 100 (high), ranking #947 of 3,143 US counties. Within North Carolina it ranks #20 of 100 counties. It ranks best on new homes permitted (high), voter turnout (high) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), public libraries (low) and home price to income ratio (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #947 of 3,143 counties
- North Carolina
- #20 of 100 in NC
- Population
- 174,702 (2025)
- Land area
- 849 mi²
- Density
- 205.7 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 37019
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 78 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US counties.
- Safety30#2,159/3,096
- Economy82#574/3,143
- Housing19#2,528/3,140
- Health74#805/3,144
- Healthcare77#715/3,143
- Environment46#1,664/3,108
- Education78#692/3,144
- Infrastructure90#301/3,144
- Community67#1,024/3,144
- Leisure & amenities65#1,102/3,143
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Brunswick County, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US counties (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- New homes permitted · high29.8 /1k100/100North Carolina 8.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
- Voter turnout · high85.4%
- Mammography screening · high61.0%98/100North Carolina 50.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Comfortable days · high33.6%97/100North Carolina 30.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
- Flu vaccinations · high54.0%96/100North Carolina 48.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Broadband subscriptions · high93.3%
Weaknesses
- Natural hazard risk · high98.0
- Public libraries · low0.3 /10k
- Home price to income ratio · high4.5×
- Cost of buying a home today · high36.2%
- Rent as share of income · high31.7%
- Students per teacher · high15.9×
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- PopulationRising
138,135 (2020) → 174,702 (2025)
+26%5 yearsUS 331,578,104 → 341,784,857
- Drought exposureWorsening
21% (2021) → 73% (Nov 2025–Oct 2026)
+52 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- New business applicationsImproving
9.6 /1k (2020) → 14.3 /1k (2025)
+49%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.5% (2015-2019) → 93.3% (2020-2024)
+8.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
27.5% (Dec 2021) → 36.2% (Aug 2026)
+8.7 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
33.8 /100k (2021) → 19.4 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−43%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
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.
Counties like Brunswick County, North Carolina five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Brunswick County, 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
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, NCLocal 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.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Public money & outcomes
Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.
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.
Metro area
The metro or micro area Brunswick County belongs to. A county is in at most one.
Cities and towns in Brunswick County
Places whose residents live mostly in Brunswick County, largest first.
Neighboring counties
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar counties
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Pender County, NC56Alike on Hazard risk, Comfortable days, Libraries
- Davie County, NC67Alike on Voter turnout, Obesity, Flu vaccination
- Carteret County, NC81Alike on Comfortable days, Hazard risk, Broadband
- Horry County, SC50Alike on Comfortable days, Hazard risk, Obesity
- Moore County, NC81Alike on Home value, Inactivity, Obesity
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- National Risk IndexFederal Emergency Management Agency · release v1.20.0
- Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-09
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-10-06
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08
