What should you know before moving to Calabash?
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C−, ranked 184th of 286 in North Carolina. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $65K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. Calabash’s median age is 56 years, above both the North Carolina town median (40.1 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Calabash's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 93% of U.S. towns. Among 290 North Carolina towns, just 5 have a higher January low than Calabash.
Calabash has grown 74% since 2010
1,786 counted in 2010 and 2,011 in 2020; an estimated 3,069 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 54.4% since 2020, after 12.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Calabash grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Calabash is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Calabash: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Calabash, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Calabash.
Calabash is a second-home town and sends many workers across the state line to North Myrtle Beach, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
Calabash has set aside 0.2% of its land for conservation
9.7 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. Calabash’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Calabash | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Hurricanes leads a very high hazard risk in Calabash
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of North Carolina towns; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1989, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Calabash.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Residents of Calabash are healthier than 69% of U.S. towns
Against the 9,995 U.S. towns with household incomes like Calabash’s, it is healthier than 90%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Calabash beats the North Carolina average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 29% of adults feel lonely in Calabash.
| Calabash | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 80% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Calabash | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.1% | 8.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.8% | 12.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.2% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Mild winters and hot summers in Calabash
Calabash has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 37° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
With 1.5 jobs for every working resident, Calabash draws in 964 commuters
21% of working residents cross a state line to work, North Myrtle Beach among the top destinations. The average commute for its 699 working residents takes 18.4 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
Most working residents leave Calabash for work: only 11% work in town. The average trip to work in Calabash is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Wilmington (8%), Shallotte (7%) and North Myrtle Beach (5%).
| Calabash | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes in Calabash are worth about $350K, by Zillow’s estimate
65.8% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.9% across North Carolina.
The typical Calabash home is worth about $350,000, up 1.7% in a year, 5% above the North Carolina typical home.
| Calabash | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,360 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 67% | 73% |
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Calabash
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Calabash; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Calabash residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
About Calabash
Town in North Carolina, United States
Calabash is a small town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 2,011. It is known as the "Seafood Capital of the World" because of the town's seafood restaurants.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 49 ft
- ZIP code
- 28467
- Area code
- 910
Calabash’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Calabash.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calabash | #184 | C− | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Sunset Beach | #56 | B | B | — | B− | B+ |
| Carolina Shores | #146 | C | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
Calabash, Sunset Beach and Carolina Shores report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Calabash with a neighbor →
Questions about Calabash
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Calabash, NC a good place to live?
Calabash grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #184 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B+ for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Calabash, NC expensive?
That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($76,471 across the Wilmington, NC metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.