What is the cost of living in Wilmington?

Wilmington has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 96.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 93.2, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,426/month.

What is the median salary in Wilmington?

The median salary in Wilmington is $64,296 annually (mean: $68,018). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Wilmington?

The violent crime rate in the Wilmington area is 365 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1930 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Wilmington?

The state of NC has 2,703 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Wilmington?

Infant center-based childcare in the Wilmington area averages $9,487 per year. Preschool averages $6,548/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Wilmington a good place to relocate?

Wilmington has a Life Score of 51.1/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Wilmington sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Wilmington ranks #201 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Wilmington, NC

BEA RPP 96.4 sits mid-pack (#247 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

96.4
Cost index (US=100): $1,426
2BR rent / mo: $64,296
Median salary: 51
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Wilmington ranks #201 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (51/100), with its strongest marks in safety and air quality.

#201
of 387 US metros · Near median: 11,046,024
metro-area population: 365
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,703
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (36/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Wilmington ranks #201 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 96.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,426/mo, median salary $64,296; LiveAbility Score 51/100, strongest in safety and air quality.

Signature: BEA RPP 96.4 sits mid-pack (#247 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 96.4 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,426/mo.

LiveAbility 51/100 keeps Wilmington in the middle third (#201 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Wilmington area is 183,460.

Wilmington vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

51 Top 52% higher than 48% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Wilmington housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Wilmington MSA; housing RPP 93.2 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,426/mo.

Studio

$1,242

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,301

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,426

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,983

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,392

/month

Wilmington wages and employment

Wilmington posts 183,460 total employment with median salary $64,296.

Median Salary

$64,296

Mean Salary

$68,018

Total Employment

183,460

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$30,790
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,460
Registered Nurses	$80,970
Waiters and Waitresses	$30,610
Cashiers	$28,520

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Wilmington area from NCES.

Schools

2,703

Enrollment

1,544,406

Student:Teacher

15.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Wilmington area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$9,487

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,856

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,548

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Wilmington's composite Life Score is 51.1/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

36/100

Below average

Wages

45/100

Average

Rent

36/100

Below average

Crime

92/100

Elite

Schools

62/100

Above average

Childcare

57/100

Above average

Environment

37/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Wilmington ranks #201 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 51/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (93/100)

Safety

93
Air quality

73
Climate

68
Job market

45
Low hazard

40
Schools

38
Cost of living

36
Housing

36

What this shows Wilmington's strongest dimensions are safety and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 36/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Wilmington to

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Bakersfield-Delano Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Bangor Barnstable Town Baton Rouge

Metros near Wilmington on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Wilmington on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Wilmington cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Wilmington wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Wilmington?

Wilmington runs a $64,296 median salary at a 96.4 cost index, ranking #201 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Wilmington's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Wilmington head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Wilmington
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.