Carolina ShoresNC
A town of 5,540, settled in 1998.
What should you know before moving to Carolina Shores?
Carolina Shores’s weakest is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. With a C overall, Carolina Shores is better than just over a third of U.S. towns. That places it 146th of 286 in North Carolina. Hazard risk is weaker too (D−): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Homes run about $320K for a typical one, 4.2 times the Wilmington metro’s $76K median household income. Where it does best is health: it is healthier than 69% of U.S. towns. On history, just 4 of North Carolina’s 451 towns do worse.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Carolina Shores has grown 82% since 2010
3,048 counted in 2010 and 4,588 in 2020; an estimated 5,540 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 20.9% since 2020, after 50.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Carolina Shores grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Carolina Shores is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Carolina Shores: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carolina Shores, 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 Carolina Shores.
Carolina Shores 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).
Carolina Shores stands out in North Carolina and nationally: a smaller share of its residents are under 18
Carolina Shores’ midpoint age is 65.3 years, above both the North Carolina town median (40.1 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). It has grown 21% since 2020, to 5,540 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. North Carolina has 36% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 28%.
| Carolina Shores | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 7.6% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 65.3 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Carolina Shores | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.6% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.8% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 5.7% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 4% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.6% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 31.6% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 19.3% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.2% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.6% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.4% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.9% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.7% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
In Carolina Shores, 0.1% of the land is conserved
Among 262 North Carolina towns, just 10 have a higher trail network density than Carolina Shores. 5.3 miles of trail.
| Carolina Shores | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Very high risk in Carolina Shores, with hurricanes at the top
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $760 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Flood insurance has paid out on 23 claims in Carolina Shores since 1999. FEMA puts 69% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 21% to inland flooding. Federal aid has come to Carolina Shores households in 7 declared disasters; the latest was in 2019.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most people working in Carolina Shores commute elsewhere
35% of working residents cross a state line to work, North Myrtle Beach among the top destinations. Carolina Shores has 333 jobs for its 1,461 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
The top destinations are Calabash (8%), Shallotte (6%) and North Myrtle Beach (5%). Most people who work leave Carolina Shores to do it: just 3% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs here rose by 153, to 333. 3.9% of residents live below the poverty line here.
| Carolina Shores | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
A larger share of adults in Carolina Shores had a checkup this year than in the typical North Carolina or U.S. town
In Carolina Shores, 15% of adults have diabetes, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 12%. The share of adults 18 to 64 in Carolina Shores who have no health insurance: 6.3%. Only 9 of the 289 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Carolina Shores. This North Carolina town beats the North Carolina average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Carolina Shores | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 88% | 80% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Carolina Shores | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.3% | 12.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.6% | 8.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 16.1% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Mild winters and hot summers: that is Carolina Shores’ year
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
For cost of living, Carolina Shores earns a C+
For Carolina Shores, the median rent is $1,973 a month. Carolina Shores: 95% of households live in a home they own. In Carolina Shores, the typical sale closed at 96.5% of the list price.
| Carolina Shores | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 95% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,973 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Carolina Shores
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Carolina Shores; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Carolina Shores residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
97% of working residents leave Carolina Shores for work
Where Carolina Shores’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Carolina Shores
Town in North Carolina, United States
Carolina Shores is a town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Carolina Shores had a population of 4,588. It is part of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town was incorporated in 1998 after a split from the town of Calabash, which came as the result of years of disagreement over "sewer, garbage collection and sign restrictions". The town limits of Carolina Shores currently interlock with those of Calabash. Sharing the name of the local country club, "Carolina Shores" could be considered a misnomer since the town does not have a "shore" with any large body of water.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1998
- Area
- 2.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 46 ft
- Area code
- 910
Carolina Shores’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Carolina Shores.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Shores | #146 | C | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Calabash | #184 | C− | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
Carolina Shores and Calabash report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Carolina Shores with a neighbor →
Questions about Carolina Shores
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Carolina Shores, NC a good place to live?
Carolina Shores grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #146 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B+ for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Carolina Shores, NC expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.