CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

34.29° N · 77.93° W · GEOID 3775780

Wrightsboro

New Hanover County, North Carolina · part of the Wilmington, NC metro

North CarolinaWrightsboro, NCWrightsboroWrightsboro

The short answer

Wrightsboro is home to 6,287 people. Median household income is $78,450 a year and median rent is $1,250 a month, 19.1% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $255,700, about 3.3x annual median household income.

Wrightsboro is defined by its growth. Household income growth is 11.2% a year, against 4.8% a year in its closest peers. Also notable: Rent took 25.5% of the median income in the 2019 survey and 19.1% in 2024. In the 25 places most like it the share fell 0.9 points on average, so affordability held up better here.

41OF 100

CTXCitytistics Index

Below average

Wrightsboro scores better than 41% of the 6,612 places we rate, and ranks 75th of 161 in North Carolina.

How the CTX is built

Category ratings · 0 to 100, typical place 50

Affordability 20%64
Economy 20%54
Safety 20%n/a
Amenities 15%3
Education 10%37
Commute 10%72
Growth 5%n/a

Not rated: safety, growth, for want of data (the city police department does not report a full year to the FBI). The other weights are spread over the categories rated.

Median gross rent
$1,250
8% below the median place
Median household income
$78,450
2% below the median place
Median home value
$255,700
20% below the median place
Unemployment
4.5%
8% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Wrightsboro

  • HousingOwning with a mortgage costs only about $156 a month more than the median rent, a smaller gap than in 87% of the 2,469 places under 10,000 people we track.
01

Moving to Wrightsboro

New Hanover County gains about 9.4 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in14,308
Moved out12,641
Net+1,667

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Brunswick County, NC1,2012,149−948
Pender County, NC7961,445−649
Wake County, NC1,015707+308
Duplin County, NC180

Within North Carolina, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within North CarolinaOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$81K
Leavers$65K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of New Hanover County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
8.2% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 4.4% from another state.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into New Hanover County report $80,600 a year in income on average; those leaving, $65,300, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$50,000 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,250 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,406 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $255,700.
Getting to work
22 minutes each way on average; 7.5% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Arab, AL matches it on character for less of your income. Compare the two
Moved here in the past year1
8.2%
43% above the median place
Moved from another state1
4.4%
122% above the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people7
9.4
above the median place (median -0.6)
All 5 moving measures
MeasureWrightsboroAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year18.2%43% above
Moved from another state1County figure4.4%122% above
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure9.4above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$80,55814% above
Income of households moving out7County figure$65,3407% below
02

What it costs to live here

Homeowners pay a median of about 0.4% of home value a year in property tax, less than in 93% of the 2,266 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 2nd-lowest of 161 North Carolina places we track.

Wrightsboro19.1%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$50,000
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
19.1%
6% below the median place
Home price to income
3.3x
14% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
19%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$64,900
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Wrightsboro, $1,250 a month, and local prices for everything else (97.1 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Wrightsboro, but easier on the budget

Places that match Wrightsboro on character (size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, remote work and climate) but where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income. Cost was left out of the match on purpose.

PlaceMatchRent to incomeMore left a year
Arab, AL9613.4% vs 19.1%n/aCompare
Hartselle, AL9412.6% vs 19.1%$6,200Compare
Oxford, AL9414.9% vs 19.1%$3,000Compare
Burnet, TX9414.0% vs 19.1%n/aCompare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Wrightsboro.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Wrightsboro? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Property tax rate1
0.4%
54% below the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$1,080
67% below the median place
Renters paying 30%+1
39.1%
23% below the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureWrightsboroAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,2508% below
Rent to income119.1%6% below
Property tax rate10.4%54% below
Home price to income13.3x14% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure96.44% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,7056% above
HUD area median income4County figure$109,2002% above
Property tax paid (median)1$1,08067% below
Median home value1$255,70020% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure4.7%46% above
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure69.4%35% above
Homeownership178.0%17% above
Renters paying 30%+139.1%23% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,40625% below
Vacant homes19.3%32% above
Median year built119810% above
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Works from home1
7.5%
39% below the median place
Mean commute1
22 min
13% below the median place

More on work and pay, against the typical place

Income per person$33,124 −17%
Median household income$78,450 −2%
Poverty rate10.7% −0%
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureWrightsboroAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$78,4502% below
Income per person1$33,12417% below
Unemployment1County figure4.5%8% below
Average annual pay6County figure$65,2811% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure6.0%62% above
Jobs6County figure131,69613% below
Poverty rate110.7%0% below
Mean commute122 min13% below
Works from home17.5%39% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Homes with broadband is 96.5%, 5% above the median place.

Homes with broadband1
96.5%
5% above the median place
No health insurance1
11.6%
81% above the median place
High school or higher1
87.9%
5% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Bachelor's or higher25.9% −19%
Born abroad6.5% −26%
Median age38.0 −3%
Household size2.5 +0%
All 8 people measures
MeasureWrightsboroAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population16,2875774th largest
Median age138.03% below
Bachelor's or higher125.9%19% below
High school or higher187.9%5% below
Household size12.50% above
Born abroad16.5%26% below
No health insurance111.6%81% above
Homes with broadband196.5%5% above
05

Life in Wrightsboro

OpenStreetMap shows 0 parks per 10,000 residents, fewer than in 95% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 161 North Carolina places we track.

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks. Its history on Wikipedia

  • Tinga Nursery listed 2000

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k3.2 −71%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

National Park Service sites nearby

  • Moores Creek National Battlefield 16 miles
  • Cape Lookout National Seashore 82 miles
  • Charles Pinckney National Historic Site 148 miles

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars33.5 +61%
Shops47.6 +57%
Arts, recreation and fitness7.4 +80%
Doctors' offices and clinics30.4 +50%
Child care centers2.4 +4%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Nearest National Park Service site10
15.9
48% below the median place
Restaurants and bars per 10k8
33.5
61% above the median place
Shops per 10k8
47.6
57% above the median place
All 18 schools and local life measures
MeasureWrightsboroAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools12County figure50above (median 9)
Public school students12County figure27,460above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher12County figure15.51% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure33.561% above
Shops per 10k8County figure47.657% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure7.480% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure30.450% above
Child care centers per 10k8County figure2.44% above
Parks per 10k90.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k90.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k93.271% below
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails90.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
Nearest National Park Service site1015.948% below
National Park Service sites within 60 miles10150% below
National Register listings11192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

Hurricane risk is 99.1, 40% above the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Wrightsboro. Larger places are fetched first.

Hurricane risk14
99.1
40% above the median place
Annual precipitation13
58.0 in
32% above the median place
Average temperature13
64°F
16% above the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureWrightsboroAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high13County figure90°F3% above
January average low13County figure35°F38% above
Average temperature13County figure64°F16% above
Annual precipitation13County figure58.0 in32% above
Natural hazard risk14County figure96.14% above
Hurricane risk14County figure99.140% above
Tornado risk14County figure90.411% above
Wildfire risk14County figure83.035% above
Heat wave risk14County figure85.65% below
Median air quality index15County figure415% below
Good air days15County figure77.0%12% above
08

Wrightsboro in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 19% of the median income in 2030, down from 19% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases. On projected 2030 affordability, Wrightsboro does better than 66% of places. Its projected home value growth beats 90%.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,250/mo (2024)$1,590/mo$1,300 to $1,940/mo+4.1%
Median household income$78,450 (2024)$102,500$86,500 to $121,500+4.6%
Median home value$255,700 (2024)$382,000$277,000 to $526,000+6.9%

The median home would be worth 3.7 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.3 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Wrightsboro

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Colonial Heights, VA$1,234$76,505Compare
Bellmawr, NJ$1,257$76,654Compare
Berwyn, IL$1,215$78,408Compare
Griffith, IN$1,235$76,636Compare
Griffith, INBerwyn, ILBellmawr, NJColonial Heights, VAWrightsboro, NCWrightsboroColonial HeightsBellmawrBerwynGriffithWrightsboroColonial HeightsBellmawrBerwyn

Places built like Wrightsboro

Its statistical peers: the closest matches on size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, origin and remote work, in the same part of the country. Cost and outcomes are left out of the match, so the table shows how Wrightsboro performs against places like it.

PlaceRent to incomeIncome growthPop. change
Wrightsboro, NC19.1%11.2%/yrn/a
Bowleys Quarters, MD21.1%3.1%/yrn/aCompare
Cypress Gardens, FL21.8%3.7%/yrn/aCompare
Riviera Beach, MD21.0%3.2%/yrn/aCompare
Sangaree, SC21.9%4.6%/yrn/aCompare
Red Bank, SC20.5%4.8%/yrn/aCompare
Newton, NC21.1%6.1%/yr5.3%Compare

Common questions

Is Wrightsboro a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Its Citytistics Index is 41 out of 100, better than 41% of the places we rate and 75th of 161 in North Carolina. Owning with a mortgage costs only about $156 a month more than the median rent, a smaller gap than in 87% of the 2,469 places under 10,000 people we track. On cost, space and class size it scores 73 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Wrightsboro expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 19.1% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $255,700.

What salary do you need to live in Wrightsboro?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $50,000 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Wrightsboro?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Colonial Heights, VA, Bellmawr, NJ, Berwyn, IL and Griffith, IN.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Park Service sites · Wikidata (CC0), units operated by the National Park Service · Retrieved 2026-11
  11. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  12. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  13. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  14. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  15. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Wrightsboro with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Wrightsboro itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/wrightsboro-north-carolina

Citytistics. “Wrightsboro, North Carolina.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/wrightsboro-north-carolina/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.