Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Wrightsville Beach’s subject grades are an A+ for health, incomes, and civic life; the weakest is a D− for cost of living. 73% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Wrightsville Beach, above both North Carolina’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). No town in North Carolina scores lower than Wrightsville Beach on cost of living. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. No town in North Carolina scores higher than Wrightsville Beach on civic life. Wrightsville Beach has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Wrightsville Beach beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Wrightsville Beach | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.4% | 15.2% |
Coastal flooding makes up 15% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Wrightsville Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 22 in 1900, a low of 20 in 1920, 2,473 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1937 and 3 maps from 1942 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wrightsville Beach. Close and well known come first.
18 mi LandmarkFort Fisher
14 mi GardenOrton Plantation2 mi GardenAirlie Gardens
15 mi MuseumBrunswick Town
24 mi National BattlefieldMoores Creek National Battlefield56K visitors a year
9 mi TheatreThalian HallFort 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wrightsville 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Wrightsville Beach.
At $2,336 a month, Wrightsville Beach’s median rent is above both the North Carolina town median ($1,085 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Typical home values rose 10% in the year to September 2026. 81% of Wrightsville Beach households own their home.
| Wrightsville Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,336 a month | $1,085 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the New Hanover County Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrightsville Beach ElemLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 280 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
8.5% of adults report frequent physical distress in Wrightsville Beach. Among 290 North Carolina towns, just 1 have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Wrightsville Beach. 13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Wrightsville Beach.
| Wrightsville Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 34% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.8% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Wrightsville Beach | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.4% | 15.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.1% | 13.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.7% | 14.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Wrightsville Beach for work: only 7% work in town. The average trip to work in Wrightsville Beach is 18 minutes. Jobs based in Wrightsville Beach fell to 1,548 in 2023, 94 fewer than in 2013.
| Wrightsville Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 13% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 1978, 2,687 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wrightsville Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Wrightsville Beach’s property crime rate is 30.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Wrightsville Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 30.9 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Wrightsville Beach has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 36° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Wrightsville Beach | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.6% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wrightsville Beach Park | — | 14 |
| 2. Coastal Mangement-Masonboro Estaurine Resource Pre | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Wrightsville Beach
About 3 of every 100 Wrightsville Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Where Wrightsville Beach’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in North Carolina, United States
Wrightsville Beach is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. Wrightsville Beach is just east of Wilmington and is part of the Wilmington metropolitan area. The population was 2,473 at the 2020 census. The town consists of a 4.6-mile (7 km) long beach island, an interior island called Harbor Island. It served as a filming location of Dawson's Creek and The Summer I Turned Pretty. The movie Weekend at Bernie's was also partially filmed in Wrightsville Beach.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
.jpg){kind=link}
_2.JPG){kind=link}