Is North Topsail Beach a good place to live?
The best of North Topsail Beach’s subject grades is an A for health; the weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 37% of residents are 65 or older in North Topsail Beach, against 18% in North Carolina’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. No town in North Carolina scores lower than North Topsail Beach on hazard risk. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. Only 42 of North Carolina’s 451 towns score lower on history. North Topsail Beach has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes North Topsail Beach stand out
Where North Topsail Beach beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
North Topsail Beach lives by the ocean
Coastal flooding makes up 33% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
How North Topsail Beach grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far North Topsail Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to North Topsail Beach: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Topsail 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in North Topsail Beach.
A home in North Topsail Beach is worth about $527K, on Zillow’s estimate
In North Topsail Beach, 95% of households live in a home they own. Values rose 2.2% in the 12 months to September 2026. A home in North Topsail Beach typically sold within 100 days of listing.
| North Topsail Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 95% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,268 a month | $1,085 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Compared with most of North Carolina and the rest of the country, the FEMA risk score in North Topsail Beach is higher
Expected losses in North Topsail Beach break down as 59% from hurricanes and 33% from coastal flooding. The town has had 1,073 paid flood insurance claims since 1986. Also worth knowing: households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 10 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
On CDC estimates, North Topsail Beach is healthier than 89% of U.S. towns
The share of adults in North Topsail Beach who worry about having enough food: 6.5%. The town does better than the North Carolina average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 3. Only 9 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than North Topsail Beach. 13% of adults in North Topsail Beach report frequent mental distress; 85% had a checkup this year.
| North Topsail Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 80% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | North Topsail Beach | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.9% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.5% | 15.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.2% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most of North Topsail Beach’s workers commute out: the town has 0.4 jobs for each of them
6.5% of North Topsail Beach residents live below the poverty line. Just 4% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. This North Carolina town had 112 jobs in 2023, up 55 from 2013. Its mean commuting time stands at 35 minutes, above both North Carolina’s towns (24 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes).
| North Topsail Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $121,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 6.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Crime per resident in North Topsail Beach is higher than in 61% of U.S. towns
North Topsail Beach’s rate of thefts and burglaries stands at 23.6 per 1,000 residents. Among 154 North Carolina towns, just one has a lower rate of reported violence than North Topsail Beach. Police in North Topsail Beach reported no violent crime.
| North Topsail Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.6 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
4.5% of the land in North Topsail Beach is protected from building
For North Topsail Beach, the trail network density is 0.4 miles per square mile.
| North Topsail Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.5% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about North Topsail Beach
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of North Topsail Beach; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 North Topsail Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
1,097 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
About North Topsail Beach
Town in North Carolina, United States
North Topsail Beach is a town in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,005 at the 2020 census. It is located on Topsail Island. North Topsail Beach is part of the Jacksonville, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 11 sq mi
- Elevation
- 0 ft
- Area code
- 910
Questions about North Topsail Beach
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is North Topsail Beach, NC expensive?
Yes. That is 7.7 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 D.