Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,870, settled in 1917. 87% more nonprofits per person than the typical North Carolina town.
Trash day: look up yoursFEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C, ranked 151st of 286 in North Carolina. Residents are healthier than 78% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $605K for a typical one and 7.9 times the Wilmington metro’s $76K median household income. Carolina Beach’s density of trails is 1.1 miles per square mile, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 0.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4. On civic life, just 4 of North Carolina’s 331 towns do better. Brunswick Town Historic District and St. Philip's Church Ruins is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Carolina Beach beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Coastal flooding makes up 22% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
37.3% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Carolina Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 95 in 1930, 6,564 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1949 and 3 maps from 1942 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Carolina Beach. Close and well known come first.
5 mi LandmarkFort Fisher
3 mi GardenOrton Plantation
3 mi MuseumBrunswick Town
31 mi National BattlefieldMoores Creek National Battlefield56K visitors a year13 mi GardenAirlie Gardens
5 mi MuseumFort Fisher Visitor CenterFort Fisher: Eric T. Gunther, CC BY 3.0 · Orton Plantation: AgnosticPreachersKid., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Brunswick Town: Brunswick1726, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Moores Creek National Battlefield: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Fort Fisher Visitor Center: TomasVial, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carolina Beach, 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Carolina Beach.
Carolina Beach trades workers with Wilmington and other neighbors, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly hurricanes) and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of North Carolina.
At 7.9 years of the Wilmington metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $605K) costs more against local pay than in 95% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 1.9% in value. For Carolina Beach, the typical rent is $1,513 a month. Carolina Beach: 84% of households own their home, above both North Carolina’s towns (67%) and U.S. towns (73%). Also worth knowing: on the market locally: a median 42 days to sell.
| Carolina Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,513 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its one school is below. The public schools here belong to the New Hanover County Schools. Enrollment at Carolina Beach’s public school: 383 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Beach ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 383 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Trails total 3.0 miles in 3 parks and preserves. Carolina Beach State Park, at 39 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carolina Beach State Park | 1.3 mi | 39 |
| 2. Carolina Beach Lake Park | — | 19 |
| 3. Mike Chappell Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $840 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 2,226 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 350 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 2,226 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carolina Beach. Just over three fifths of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by coastal flooding at 22%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with North Carolina is tooth loss: 6.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 13.9% statewide.
For adults in Carolina Beach, the share who smoke cigarettes is 13%. The town does better than the North Carolina average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 3. In Carolina Beach, 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours, and 15% report frequent mental distress.
| Carolina Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Carolina Beach | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.4% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.1% | 15.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 182 to 115 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Carolina Beach, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 13.3 per 1,000 residents. Within North Carolina, it does better than 56% of towns.
| Carolina Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.3 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Carolina Beach’s peak summer temperature comes in at 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Carolina Beach has about as many jobs (2,420) as working residents, but only 541 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 1,384 in 2013 to 2,420.
The top destinations are Wilmington (30%), Raleigh (4%) and Myrtle Grove (3%). In Carolina Beach, about one in five working residents works in town. Employers in Carolina Beach added 1,036 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 2,420. Carolina Beach: 20% of workers work remotely from home.
| Carolina Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 20% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
3 within 15 miles of the center of Carolina Beach
About 2 of every 100 Carolina Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
5,706 counted in 2010 and 6,564 in 2020; an estimated 6,870 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Town in North Carolina, United States
Carolina Beach is a beach town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States, situated about 12 miles (19 km) south of Wilmington International Airport in southeastern coastal North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,564. It is part of the Wilmington metropolitan area. The community of Wilmington Beach was annexed by the town in 2000. Carolina Beach lies at the northern end of Pleasure Island, which it shares with the community of Kure Beach, south of the inlet that separates the island from the unincorporated community of Sea Breeze. The town has a land area of 2.45 square miles (6.3 km2), extending along the island from Freeman Park in the north to Alabama A…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Carolina Beach.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Beach | #151 | C | D | C− | B | A− |
| Kure Beach | — | — | D | — | B | A |
Kure Beach has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Kure Beach reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Carolina Beach with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Carolina Beach grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #151 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A− for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 56% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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