Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Population

Down 2.9% since 2020.

2,397

people, the 240th-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.

96.0%

of 1,729 jobs located in Wrightsville Beach are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 69% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$2,336

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

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,375 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in New Hanover County.

• $961 Tract 121.09
• $2,336 Tract 118

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.

$813–$1,219

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $2,336 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

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 47 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 83% 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 0.0–0.6% to the 2,886 homes here.

1–17

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 305% more than North Carolina's.

$1,168,700

median home value in Wrightsville Beach.

• $1,168,700 Wrightsville Beach
• $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