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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-ATLANTIC-BEACH-NC · Atlantic Beach, NC 1,705 pop · income 32nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Atlantic Beach
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Atlantic Beach on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hertford · lowest
40,096
Hertford · lowest
40,096 median HH income
27.6% of the leader · rank #1
McCoole · near
58,047
McCoole · near
58,047 median HH income
39.9% of the leader · rank #2
Atlantic Beach · this city
58,056
Atlantic Beach · this city
58,056 median HH income
39.9% of the leader · rank #3
New Oxford · near
58,056
New Oxford · near
58,056 median HH income
39.9% of the leader · rank #4
Village Green · near
58,059
Village Green · near
58,059 median HH income
39.9% of the leader · rank #5
Babbie · near
58,068
Babbie · near
58,068 median HH income
39.9% of the leader · rank #6
Walnut Creek · highest
145,417
Walnut Creek · highest
145,417 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Atlantic Beach on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,705.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Atlantic Beach - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Atlantic Beach lands in the 32nd percentile for household income and the 6th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
32nd
percentile, household income
83rd
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
6th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Atlantic Beach, NC
Atlantic Beach is a small town in North Carolina, home to 1,705 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Atlantic Beach households earn a median of $58,056 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.1%. Home values in Atlantic Beach run a median of $466,400, and the median resident age is 60.5 years. Educational attainment runs 51.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 40.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Atlantic Beach (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Atlantic Beach's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 4372.4 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in North Carolina run below the national norm: the state registers 94.3 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,161 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in North Carolina run around $215, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 66.7 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Atlantic Beach's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to population change to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Atlantic Beach, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Atlantic Beach?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 8.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Is Atlantic Beach growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +35 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the journey to work look like in Atlantic Beach?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Atlantic Beach?
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are Hertford (1,703 residents, $40,096 income); Horse Shoe (1,699 residents, $67,703 income); Tryon (1,713 residents, $47,604 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Arcade, GA (1,705 residents); Romancoke, MD (1,705 residents); Wynnewood, OK (1,705 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Atlantic Beach?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 4372.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 92% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
3596.6
Violent rate
775.7
Total reported rate
4372.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 9.1% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
D
City profile score · Atlantic Beach, NC
43/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share A
51.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living B-
94.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate D
9.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$58,056
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
776 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Atlantic Beach profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 85/100 (A) · 51.7%
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Poverty rate: 43/100 (D) · 9.1%
Household income: 32/100 (F) · $58,056
Violent crime: 2/100 (F) · 776 /100k
Where Atlantic Beach sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Atlantic Beach's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Atlantic Beach highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Atlantic Beach, NC (this city): home $466,400, crime 4,372/100k
Arcade, GA : home $228,800, crime 1,594/100k
Wynnewood, OK : home $103,700, crime 1,038/100k
Hale Center, TX : home $85,300, crime 607/100k
Napavine, WA : home $335,500, crime 1,616/100k
Tryon, NC : home $222,700, crime 1,667/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Atlantic Beach compare to other US cities?
Here's how Atlantic Beach stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income32% higher than other cities
Home value83% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety6% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to North Carolina alone, Atlantic Beach ranks #161 of 195 North Carolina cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Atlantic Beach against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to North Carolina only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
North Carolina-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Atlantic Beach near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Atlantic Beach ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Atlantic Beach only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#362 of 700
48th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#47 of 708
93rd percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#378 of 746
49th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#80 of 746
89th percentile in North Carolina
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within North Carolina only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
32nd percentile nationally for median household income · 6th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Atlantic Beach's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Atlantic Beach's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Atlantic Beach's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$466,40017th percentilemore affordable than 17% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Atlantic Beach's home-value-to-income ratio: 8.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,054 of 15,516
More affordable than 3% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,050 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 8.0×, Atlantic Beach sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,054 of 15,516 and #11,050 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$58,056Atlantic Beach, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Atlantic Beach, NC median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Atlantic Beach, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)51.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)40.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,705
Median Income
$58,056
Median Home Value
$466,400
Median Age
60.5
Poverty Rate
9.1%
Labor force participation
40.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
51.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
4372.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
775.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3596.6
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Atlantic Beach's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,373 residents
2021
1,397 residents
2022
1,400 residents
2023
1,405 residents
2024
1,415 residents
2025
1,408 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
54
54
0
$17.2M
2020
64
42
22
$6.8M
2021
30
30
0
$16.8M
2022
10
10
0
$5.7M
2023
0
0
0
-
Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2023.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.3%
Carpool
1.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.7%
Work from Home
16.2%
Based on 629 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
North Carolina statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $215
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across North Carolina at $215 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are North Carolina statewide averages, not a meter reading for Atlantic Beach. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
North Carolina's BEA cost-of-living index is 94.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Atlantic Beach is $1,161/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to North Carolina statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 66.7 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a North Carolina statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Atlantic Beach sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Atlantic Beach compares to similar-size North Carolina cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.