Bald Head Island, North Carolina

Population

Growing. Up 6.5% since 2020.

279

people, the 479th-largest of North Carolina's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among North Carolina's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

96.4%

of 563 jobs located in Bald Head Island are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,601 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Brunswick County.

• $967 Tract 203.15
• $2,568 Tract 203.13

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Building

41% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 108 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 41% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0–0.5% to the 1,115 homes here.

0–6

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 373% more than North Carolina's.

$1,367,200

median home value in Bald Head Island.

• $1,367,200 Bald Head Island
• $288,900 North Carolina
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year