Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C, 170th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 78% of the country and it is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $58K, and 13% of residents live below the poverty line. 52% of the land in Jacksonville is conserved, against 3.4% in North Carolina’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Jacksonville is home to Coastal Carolina Community College. Only 3 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower average trip to work than Jacksonville.
Where Jacksonville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Jacksonville | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.7% | 7.9% |
Its founding year, 1757, comes before those of 95% of the North Carolina towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 60 in 1870, 72,723 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 3 maps from 1943 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Jacksonville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jacksonville, 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 Jacksonville.
Jacksonville draws workers from Piney Green and beyond and keeps more of its land conserved than most of North Carolina, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of North Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
Only 38.7% of households own their home, against 66.6% across North Carolina.
Jacksonville’s median age is 23.4 years, below both North Carolina’s towns (40.1 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). 7.8% of Jacksonville residents are 65 or older. Adults 18 to 34 are 53% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 20% of residents (38% statewide).
| Jacksonville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 23.4 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 7.8% | 18% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 29% | 29% |
38% women, 62% men
About 163 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 79% are men (NC 51%). Median age: women 27.9, men 22.4.
| Jacksonville | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.7% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 38.2% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.9% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.6% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5.7% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 5.6% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.9% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.9% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.4% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.8% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.2% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.3% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.7% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.5% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Its public schools are run by the Onslow County Schools. Three of its 23 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Commons MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 918 | B− |
| Jacksonville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,441 | A− |
| Onslow Early CollegeTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 189 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Its 18,871 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of North Carolina towns.
52 miles of trail in 25 parks and preserves. Jacksonville’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Northeast Creek Park, at 86 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jacksonville Commons | 1.3 mi | 63 |
| 2. Beirut Memorial | 1.1 mi | 30 |
| 3. Northeast Creek Park | 0.5 mi | 86 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
27,404 jobs are based in Jacksonville, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
About one in 3 of Jacksonville’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Raleigh (5%), Wilmington (5%) and Charlotte (4%). Half commute less than 33 miles.
| Jacksonville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $1,016 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 222 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 28 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1992, 222 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Jacksonville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 8,227 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jacksonville’s, it is healthier than 97%, so its A− isn’t only a matter of income. Its widest gap with North Carolina is cancer: 3.7% of its 58,799 adults have had cancer, against 7.9% statewide.
24% of adults have high blood pressure in Jacksonville. Only 5 of the 289 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Jacksonville. 31% of adults have obesity in Jacksonville.
| Jacksonville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 38% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7% | 13% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Jacksonville | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.7% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 3.6% | 6.6% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.5% | 14.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 1,610 to 1,364 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Jacksonville is 17.1 per 1,000 residents. Within North Carolina, it does better than 65% of towns.
| Jacksonville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.1 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Home values rose 41% in five years, to about $262K, against 22% across North Carolina.
The typical Jacksonville home is worth about $262,000, up 3.4% in a year, 21% below the North Carolina typical home. Only 9 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than Jacksonville.
| Jacksonville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 39% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,321 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jacksonville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 34° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Jacksonville
About 8 of every 100 Jacksonville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
3 places in Jacksonville on the National Register of Historic Places.
41 notable people were born in Jacksonville.
City in North Carolina, United States
Jacksonville is the county seat of and the most populous community in Onslow County, North Carolina, which is coterminous with the Jacksonville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-most populous city in North Carolina. Demographically, Jacksonville is the youngest city in the United States, with an average age of 22.8 years old, which can be attributed to the large military presence. The low age may also be in part due to the population drastically increasing over the past 80 years, from 783 in the 1930 census to 72,723 in the 2020 census. It is the home of the United States Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune and New …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Jacksonville.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | #170 | C | C | C | B− | A− |
| Piney Green | #181 | C− | C+ | — | B− | B |
| Half Moon | #73 | B | B+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Pumpkin Center | — | — | B+ | — | B− | B |
Pumpkin Center has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Piney Green, Half Moon and Pumpkin Center report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Jacksonville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jacksonville grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #170 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 65% of towns.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($68,148 across the Jacksonville, 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.
41 notable people were born here, including A.J. Styles and Ryan Adams.
