HampsteadNC
A town of 9,292, settled in 1896.
What should you know before moving to Hampstead?
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades B−, 113th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 86% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. 30% of residents are under 18 in Hampstead, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 22%.
What makes Hampstead stand out
Where Hampstead beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Hampstead has grown 72% from 2010 to 2020
4,083 counted in 2010 and 7,016 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Hampstead grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Hampstead is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Hampstead: who provides what
Hampstead is unincorporated, so Pender County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Hampstead.
Hampstead has less food insecurity than most of North Carolina, 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.
0% of Hampstead is conserved land
14 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Hampstead is 0.7 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools in Hampstead beat 68% of North Carolina districts
Its public schools are run by the Pender County Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Topsail ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 618 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Hurricanes leads a very high hazard risk in Hampstead
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $995 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1988, 128 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hampstead.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For health, Hampstead earns an A
Its widest gap with North Carolina is food insecurity: 8.6% of its 5,095 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.2% statewide.
18% of adults get no exercise outside work in Hampstead. Hampstead beats the North Carolina average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Hampstead.
| Hampstead | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 24% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 19% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Hampstead | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.6% | 15.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.8% | 13.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical home in Hampstead is valued at about $489K
At 6.4 years of the Wilmington metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $489K) costs more against local pay than in 89% of North Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living.
The typical Hampstead home is worth about $489,000, up 0.8% in a year, 47% above the North Carolina typical home.
| Hampstead | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 73% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,216 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
About one in three of Hampstead’s working residents commute to Wilmington
Jobs based here grew from 908 in 2013 to 2,094.
Most working residents leave Hampstead for work: only 6% work in town. Hampstead’s average trip to work is 30 minutes. Jobs based in Hampstead grew to 2,094 in 2023, 1,186 more than in 2013.
| Hampstead | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 17% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.5% | 13% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hampstead has mild winters and hot summers
Hampstead has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More children than North Carolina overall
14% of Hampstead residents are 65 or older. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across North Carolina.
| Hampstead | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.8 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.1 points. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Hampstead | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.3% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.5% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.9% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.1% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.9% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.7% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.6% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.9% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.5% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.3% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Fort Fisher and 10 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hampstead. Close and well known come first.
29 mi LandmarkFort Fisher
24 mi GardenOrton Plantation
25 mi MuseumBrunswick Town
21 mi National BattlefieldMoores Creek National Battlefield56K visitors a year11 mi GardenAirlie Gardens
14 mi TheatreThalian HallPhoto credits
Fort 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 · Thalian Hall: Sanfranman59, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Everything we know about Hampstead
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Hampstead
About 5 of every 100 Hampstead residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
94% of working residents leave Hampstead for work
Where Hampstead’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Hampstead
Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States
Hampstead is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pender County, North Carolina, United States. It is located between Wilmington and Jacksonville on U.S. Route 17 and includes an area sized just over 20 square miles. As of the 2020 census, Hampstead had a population of 7,016. Hampstead is part of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- ZIP code
- 28443
- Area code
- 910
Questions about Hampstead
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Hampstead, NC a good place to live?
Hampstead grades B− overall, better than 45% of U.S. towns and #113 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Hampstead, NC expensive?
That is 6.4 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.