NCMapwithdotonRockyPoint, 2025
Rocky Point’s story
166 years in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2025 and 3 maps from 1947 on.
- 1860Rocky Point is settled
Rocky PointNC
Home to 1,020 people, the town was settled in 1860.
Population
1,020
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$369K
+0.8% in a year
Household income
$70K
median
Median age
41.1
years
Jobs based here
606
Balanced
Is Rocky Point a good place to live?
Rocky Point’s best subject grades are a B+ for cost of living and schools; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. Among 291 North Carolina towns, just 3 have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Rocky Point. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. Among 291 North Carolina towns, just 7 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Rocky Point. Rocky Point’s concentration of trails is 1.2 miles per square mile, where North Carolina’s towns sit at 0.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Rocky Point has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Rocky Point stand out
Where Rocky Point beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Typical home value
Rocky Point$369K
North Carolina$332K
Cost of livingB+
4.8 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 73% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
Worth knowing · Natural hazardsD−
Hurricanes and inland flooding at the top
FEMA National Risk Index.
Small town
1,020 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
How Rocky Point grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Rocky Point is from typical.
Hazard riskHurricanes top the listD−Open →Jobs & income$70K median household incomeDOpen →HealthLess healthy than 76% of U.S. towns; Pender Memorial Hospital 7.6 miles awayC−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.9 of 20; 12% of households have no car; 0.9% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →Cost of livingGraded on home prices against local incomesB+Open →SchoolsSchools do better than mostB+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Rocky Point: who provides what
Rocky Point is unincorporated, so Pender County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerDuke Energy15.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterPender County Utilities14 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers96% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesPender CountyPender County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn North Carolina you can register online until 25 days before Election Day, in person with same-day registration during the early voting period, or by mail (postmarked 25 days before).vote.govWho runs elections herePender County Board of ElectionsPender County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, May 2019
ZIP codes28457, 2842528457 79% · 28425 21%Census 2020
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 Rocky Point.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D−
The biggest natural risk in Rocky Point is hurricanes, at a very high overall level
Households in Rocky Point have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2018. On expected storm and flood damage, Rocky Point sits above 95% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Rocky Point break down as 66% from hurricanes and 17% from inland flooding.
95risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
HurricanesInland floodingTornadoes
5
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
SchoolsB+
Public schools in Rocky Point beat 68% of North Carolina districts
The largest public high school is Heide Trask High, with 732 students. The Pender County Schools runs its public schools. Its two schools are below.
68%of NC districts it outscoresB+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Point ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 403 | C+ |
| Heide Trask HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 732 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
HealthC−
More of Rocky Point’s adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance than in the typical North Carolina or U.S. town
Among adults in Rocky Point, 19% report frequent mental distress. The town does better than the North Carolina average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 13. In Rocky Point, nearly a quarter of adults say their health is fair or poor, and 40% have obesity.
24%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Rocky Point | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 19% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 35% |
32 measures vs. North Carolina
1 better18 too close to call13 worse
| What stands out | Rocky Point | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.7% | 7.9% |
| More uninsured adults | 18.3% | 10.4% |
Pender Memorial Hospital
7.6 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: primary care
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
90°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter35–59°
Spring50–74°
Summer69–88°
Fall53–75°
Nov 8
typical first frost
Mar 29
typical last frost
+1.0°
vs. the 20th-century average
90°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
About one in three of Rocky Point’s working residents commute to Wilmington
For Rocky Point, the average trip to work is 28 minutes. Employers in Rocky Point added 146 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 606. Rocky Point: a fifth of residents live below the poverty line. Half of commuters travel less than 17 miles.
1%work in town
| Rocky Point | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Rocky Point1%
Wilmington31%
Burgaw5%
Raleigh4%
Charlotte3%
17 mi
median commute distance
606
jobs based in Rocky Point
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HousingCost of living grade B+
Zillow puts the typical Rocky Point home at about $369K
84% of households are owner-occupiers locally. Rocky Point’s rent at the middle of the market is $971 a month.
$369KZillow home value
| Rocky Point | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $971 a month | $1,085 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Rocky Point$369K
North Carolina$332K
+0.8%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in September
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 4,397 acres
8.5 mi
of trails · 1.2 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Nearby attractions
All 13 attractions →Fort Fisher and 10 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rocky Point. Close and well known come first.
33 mi LandmarkFort Fisher
27 mi GardenOrton Plantation
12 mi National BattlefieldMoores Creek National Battlefield56K visitors a year
28 mi MuseumBrunswick Town16 mi GardenAirlie Gardens
15 mi TheatreThalian HallSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Fort Fisher: Eric T. Gunther, CC BY 3.0 · Orton Plantation: AgnosticPreachersKid., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Moores Creek National Battlefield: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Brunswick Town: Brunswick1726, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Thalian Hall: Sanfranman59, CC BY-SA 3.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Rocky Point
18pages on Rocky Point
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Rocky Point
Miller-Motte College-WilmingtonUniversity or college · Private for-profit · Wilmington13.9 miCape Fear Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Wilmington14.4 mi$2,748 in-state tuition
About 6 of every 100 Rocky Point residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
Famous people from Rocky Point
3 notable people were born in Rocky Point.
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About Rocky Point
Unincorporated community in North Carolina, U.S.
Rocky Point is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Pender County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,476 at the 2020 census. Rocky Point is within the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Elevation
- 36 ft
- ZIP code
- 28457
Questions about Rocky Point
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Rocky Point, NC expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
What is Rocky Point, NC known for?
3 notable people were born here, including John Baptista Ashe and William Shepperd Ashe.