Oak Island, North Carolina

Population

Growing. Up 11.3% since 2020.

9,337

people, the 99th-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

8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

76.3%

of 2,154 jobs located in Oak Island are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 45% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,339

a month. North Carolina's median is $1,228.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

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

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$804–$1,205

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,339 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

54% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 840 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 54% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.0–0.2% to the 10,805 homes here.

4–22

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 58% more than North Carolina's.

$456,500

median home value in Oak Island.

• $456,500 Oak Island
• $288,900 North Carolina
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year