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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-WILMINGTON-NC · Wilmington, NC 118,578 pop · income 41st pct · 55 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 Wilmington
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Wilmington on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Greenville · lowest
50,564
Greenville · lowest
50,564 median HH income
40.0% of the leader · rank #1
Henry · near
63,894
Henry · near
63,894 median HH income
50.5% of the leader · rank #2
Wilmington · this city
63,900
Wilmington · this city
63,900 median HH income
50.5% of the leader · rank #3
Wabasso · near
63,900
Wabasso · near
63,900 median HH income
50.5% of the leader · rank #4
Linwood · near
63,902
Linwood · near
63,902 median HH income
50.5% of the leader · rank #5
Lancaster · near
63,902
Lancaster · near
63,902 median HH income
50.5% of the leader · rank #6
Cambridge · highest
126,469
Cambridge · highest
126,469 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 Wilmington 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: 118,578.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Wilmington - the verdict
Wilmington ranks in the 41st percentile for household income and the 7th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
41st
percentile, household income
72nd
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
7th
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: Wilmington, NC
118,578 people live in Wilmington, North Carolina - a mid-sized U.S. city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Wilmington households earn a median of $63,900 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.9%. Typical homes in Wilmington are valued around $350,300, and the median resident age is 37.5 years. 45.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 61.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Wilmington's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 3997.6 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, above the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 64.4°F with 60.1 inches of precipitation per year and 0.9 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in North Carolina run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, North Carolina scores 94.3 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,161 per month statewide. 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 Wilmington'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 comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Wilmington, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Wilmington?
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are High Point (115,263 residents, $61,228 income); Concord (106,518 residents, $84,752 income); Asheville (94,369 residents, $67,221 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Spring Hill, FL (118,814 residents); Billings, MT (118,321 residents); Richardson, TX (118,269 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.
Is Wilmington 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 +10,862 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +9.4% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Wilmington?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.9%, 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.
What can 55 Census tracts reveal inside Wilmington?
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.
PlainCities matches 55 Census tracts to this city.
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 Wilmington?
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 3997.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 75% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
3514.8
Violent rate
482.8
Total reported rate
3997.6
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Wilmington?
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 70.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.4%
Work from home
17.7%
Drive alone
70.9%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 60,943 workers age 16+.
What physical conditions frame life in Wilmington?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 64.4°F, with 60.1 inches of precipitation and 0.9 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for North Carolina is 66.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
64.4°F
Annual precipitation
60.1 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
66.7
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What does the education layer cover for Wilmington?
The NCES join finds 44 public schools within the city match. 45.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
44
Bachelor's degree+
45.8%
Poverty estimate
8.9%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 8.9% (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 · Wilmington, NC
48/100
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-
45.8%
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
8.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income D
$63,900
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
483 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Wilmington profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 45.8%
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Poverty rate: 44/100 (D) · 8.9%
Household income: 40/100 (D) · $63,900
Violent crime: 17/100 (F) · 483 /100k
Where Wilmington sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Wilmington'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 - Wilmington highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Wilmington, NC (this city): home $350,300, crime 3,998/100k
Billings, MT : home $311,800, crime 3,830/100k
Richardson, TX : home $405,600, crime 1,980/100k
Cambridge, MA : home $1,040,500, crime 3,081/100k
West Palm Beach, FL : home $369,800, crime 2,714/100k
North Charleston, SC : home $267,700, crime 4,766/100k
High Point, NC : home $212,400, crime 2,911/100k
Concord, NC : home $327,600, crime 1,264/100k
Asheville, NC : home $411,000, crime 4,691/100k
Greenville, NC : home $213,100, crime 3,367/100k
Gastonia, NC : home $250,000, crime 4,364/100k
How does Wilmington compare to other US cities?
Where Wilmington sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income41% higher than other cities
Home value72% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety7% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at North Carolina, Wilmington ranks #155 of 195 North Carolina cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Wilmington 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 Wilmington near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Wilmington ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Wilmington only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#292 of 700
58th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#118 of 708
83rd percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#382 of 746
48th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#105 of 746
86th 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
41st percentile nationally for median household income · 7th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Wilmington's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Wilmington'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 Wilmington's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$350,30028th percentilemore affordable than 28% 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
Wilmington's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,545 of 15,516
More affordable than 13% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#517 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 5.5×, Wilmington sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,545 of 15,516 and #517 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
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
$63,900Wilmington, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Wilmington, 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 Wilmington, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)45.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
118,578
Median Income
$63,900
Median Home Value
$350,300
Median Age
37.5
Poverty Rate
8.9%
Labor force participation
61.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
45.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3997.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
482.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3514.8
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
64.4°F
Annual Precipitation
60.1"
Annual Snowfall
0.9"
Schools
Total Schools
44
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Wilmington's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
115,947 residents
2021
118,026 residents
2022
121,400 residents
2023
123,607 residents
2024
125,438 residents
2025
126,809 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
70.9%
Carpool
7.0%
Public Transit
0.4%
Walk
2.2%
Work from Home
17.7%
Other
1.8%
Based on 60,943 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 Wilmington. 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Wilmington 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, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, 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.