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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-OAK-ISLAND-NC · Oak Island, NC 8,888 pop · income 65th pct · 44 tracts
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 Oak Island
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Oak Island on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Rockingham · lowest
36,695
Rockingham · lowest
36,695 median HH income
28.0% of the leader · rank #1
Franklin · near
83,480
Franklin · near
83,480 median HH income
63.7% of the leader · rank #2
Desert Aire · near
83,482
Desert Aire · near
83,482 median HH income
63.8% of the leader · rank #3
Oak Island · this city
83,483
Oak Island · this city
83,483 median HH income
63.8% of the leader · rank #4
Louisville · near
83,485
Louisville · near
83,485 median HH income
63.8% of the leader · rank #5
Tioga · near
83,486
Tioga · near
83,486 median HH income
63.8% of the leader · rank #6
Bainbridge · highest
130,952
Bainbridge · highest
130,952 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Oak Island on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 8,888.
Oak Island ranks in the 65th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
65th
percentile, household income
78th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Oak Island, NC
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 8,888 residents in Oak Island, a small town within North Carolina. Oak Island households earn a median of $83,483 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.7%. Home values in Oak Island run a median of $407,400, and the median resident age is 61.5 years. Educational attainment runs 43.0% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 45.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 184 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 52% from five years earlier.
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. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,161 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $215 across North Carolina, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 66.7 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Oak Island'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 population change to within-city variation to housing and income to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Oak Island, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Oak Island growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +951 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +11.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 184 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
What can 44 Census tracts reveal inside Oak Island?
PlainCities matches 44 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
How far does income reach against housing in Oak Island?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Oak Island?
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.
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are Oxford (8,897 residents, $48,135 income); Wesley Chapel (8,923 residents, $129,962 income); Aberdeen (8,969 residents, $72,955 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bennington, VT (8,888 residents); Beaver Falls, PA (8,885 residents); Summit, WA (8,885 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Oak Island?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 71.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Drive alone
71.3%
Work from home
21.4%
Public transit
2.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 3,689 workers age 16+.
Above median income · poverty 6.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
B-
City profile score · Oak Island, NC
65/100
4 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 B+
43.0%
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.
Household income C+
$83,483
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C-
6.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Oak Island profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 78/100 (B+) · 43.0%
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Household income: 63/100 (C+) · $83,483
Poverty rate: 54/100 (C-) · 6.7%
How does Oak Island compare to other US cities?
Oak Island measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income65% higher than other cities
Home value78% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Oak Island 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 Oak Island near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Oak Island ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Oak Island only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#136 of 700
81st percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#70 of 708
90th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#448 of 746
39th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#122 of 746
84th 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
65th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Oak Island's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$407,40022nd percentilemore affordable than 22% 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
Oak Island's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,680 of 15,516
More affordable than 18% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,627 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.9×, Oak Island sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,680 of 15,516 and #9,627 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$83,483Oak Island, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Oak Island, 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 Oak Island, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)43.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)45.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,888
Median Income
$83,483
Median Home Value
$407,400
Median Age
61.5
Poverty Rate
6.7%
Labor force participation
45.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
43.0%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Oak Island's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,386 residents
2021
8,788 residents
2022
9,212 residents
2023
9,375 residents
2024
9,313 residents
2025
9,337 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
184
housing units authorized
Single-Family
184
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
20.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
384
210
174
$64.8M
2020
457
265
192
$79.5M
2021
545
304
241
$92.7M
2022
304
304
0
$123.6M
2023
213
213
0
$96.9M
2024
184
184
0
$84.3M
Permit volume decreased 52% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
71.3%
Carpool
3.5%
Public Transit
2.0%
Walk
1.0%
Work from Home
21.4%
Other
0.8%
Based on 3,689 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 Oak Island. 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 Oak Island 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 Oak Island sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Oak Island 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, 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.