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Tiny town

Living in Topsail Beach, NC

Topsail Beach is a tiny town of 406 people in Pender County, North Carolina. It's about 17 miles from Wilmington, NC and 116 miles from Raleigh, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 88°F and winter highs 55°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $691k and rent runs about $1k a month.

406people
$691kTypical home
$1,106/moRent
88° / 55°Summer / winter
1"Snow
235Sunny days
119Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Tiny town of 406
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 93 people per sq mi
  • 116 mi to Raleigh, NC
  • 17 mi to Wilmington, NC
  • 12 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $691k (≈$4,359/mo)
  • Median rent $1,106/mo
  • Median household income $93k
  • Property tax about 0.7% of value
  • 3.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 88°F
  • Winter highs around 55°F
  • Steamy summers (dew point 72°F)
  • 235 sunny days a year (61 totally clear)
  • 130 cloudy days a year
  • 42 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 119 days a year with rain or snow
  • Basically no snow
  • Snow days are rare
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • Rarely drops below 10°F
  • Windier than most places

Safety

  • Very low violent crime (168 per 100k), county-wide
  • Very low property crime (735 per 100k), county-wide

People

  • Median age 68
  • 20% of households have kids
  • 36% are 65 or older
  • 43% have a college degree
  • Not very diverse
  • 4% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 33 min
  • 1% walk or take transit to work
  • 16 mi to ILM airport
  • 87 mi to MYR (major hub)
  • 85 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 81% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1985
  • 94% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Flat, open land
  • Elevation -3 ft
  • Right on the coast
  • 146 mi to a big lake
  • 42 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 195 mi to the nearest ski area
  • 3 mi to the nearest campground
  • 15 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 357 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 81 bars within 25 mi
  • 123 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 9 museums within 25 mi
  • 3 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • 20 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the top 48% of North Carolina districts (reading)
  • 3 mi to the nearest grocery store
  • 20 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 46 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 7 mi to the nearest vet
  • 11 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 8 congregations per 10k people
  • 16 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • Pender County: R+35 in 2024
  • North Carolina: R+3 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • High hurricane risk
  • High tornado risk
  • Low wildfire risk
  • Very low earthquake risk
  • Low flood risk
  • Very low drought risk
  • Very low winter storm risk
  • Moderate heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.

Places near Topsail Beach

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