Wilmington Metro Ranks 7th Nationally in Population Growth

The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2025 population estimates this week. The Wilmington metro came in at number seven nationwide for percentage growth, up 2.6% between July 2024 and July 2025. That puts a three-county metro ahead of 380 other metro areas in the country. Whether you're building homes, developing multifamily, or buying your first house in the area, the numbers behind that ranking tell you something about where this market is headed.

The National Picture

Overall metro area growth across the country slowed from 1.1% in the prior year to 0.6%, mostly due to a drop in net international migration. The Southeast owns the top of the list. Eight of the ten fastest-growing metros are in the Southeast, running from Florida through the Carolinas and into Alabama.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, Table 11.

Wilmington is one of two North Carolina metros in the top 10, joined by Raleigh-Cary at number ten.

Where the Growth Is Landing

Since the 2020 Census, the Wilmington metro has added 70,170 residents, growing from 422,602 to 492,772. Brunswick County has absorbed more than half of that growth. The Census Bureau ranked Brunswick the sixth fastest-growing county in the nation (among counties with 20,000+ residents), with a 4.7% population increase in just the past year alone. Since 2020, the county has added approximately 38,000 people, growing from 136,695 to 174,702.

The Highway 17 corridor, Leland, and the communities south toward Bolivia continue to be the primary landing zone for new residents and new construction activity.

Builders and Developers: Two Very Different Opportunities

For builders and residential developers, the story splits along county lines.

Brunswick and Pender Counties offer more developable land and account for the vast majority of new development and supply in the metro. For builders, multifamily developers, and land investors, these two counties are where the inventory is being created to meet the incoming demand.

New Hanover County is a different situation entirely. As the most built-out of the three counties, there is limited developable land remaining. That is where demand meets a real supply constraint. For developers who are able to secure entitled land or infill sites in New Hanover, and for investors acquiring existing product, the constrained supply works in their favor. Fewer new rooftops coming online in a county that is still gaining residents means stronger pricing power, less direct competition from new product, and long-term appreciation driven by a supply-demand imbalance that is structural, not cyclical.

Homebuyers: Competition, but Options in the Right Places

For buyers looking at the Wilmington metro, the population data is context for what you are already experiencing: competition for well-priced homes, particularly in Brunswick County's newer communities and in New Hanover County's more established neighborhoods.

In Brunswick and Pender, the volume of new development means more inventory and more options, especially for buyers who prioritize value and newer product. In New Hanover, the limited supply of developable land means fewer new homes coming to market each year. Buyers who purchase in New Hanover are acquiring property in a supply-constrained market where scarcity is a built-in feature, not a temporary condition.