Leland, North Carolina
Area Profile
29,607 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Leland, in Brunswick County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesLeland ranks in the top 25% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.6% and median household income of $91,977.
In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.4 students for every teacher.
908 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.6%, lower than in 77% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment fell 2.2% over the past year, to 15,507 employed residents.
44% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 84% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsBrunswick County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $103,481 | 84th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftBrunswick County, NC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $71,400 | 50th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$5,9992024 ACS 5-Year | $91,977 | Top 23%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$4,5022024 ACS 5-Year | $50,729 | Top 17%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.2% | Top 25%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 26.2 min | Top 47%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 43.7% | Top 16%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 74.3% | 40th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 15,507 | Bottom 14%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | +7.1% | Top 2%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −2.2% | Bottom 17%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 16,093 | 14th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 79.7% | Top 45%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageWilmington, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $58,480 | Bottom 10%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageWilmington, NC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $45,800 | Bottom 9%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.1% | Bottom 49%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.6% | Top 23%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.9% | 82nd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Wilmington, NC
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 6,310 | $30,790 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 5,100 | $27,460 |
| Registered Nurses | 5,040 | $80,970 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 4,920 | $30,610 |
| Cashiers | 4,860 | $28,520 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | 3,880 | $27,500 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 47% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 17.4 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Brunswick High | Brunswick County Schools | 1,620 | 18.2 | 43% | 51% |
| Classical Charter Schools of Leland · charter | Classical Charter Schools of Leland | 935 | 24.0 | 48% | 63% |
| Belville Elementary | Brunswick County Schools | 812 | 15.3 | 45% | 41% |
| Leland Middle | Brunswick County Schools | 806 | 17.9 | 28% | 41% |
| Lincoln Elementary | Brunswick County Schools | 738 | 15.7 | 31% | 26% |
| Town Creek Elementary | Brunswick County Schools | 702 | 15.3 | 55% | 52% |
| Town Creek Middle | Brunswick County Schools | 540 | 15.9 | — | — |
99.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against North Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Wilmington, NC Metro Area is up 60% over five years, and up 3.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,419 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.61% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,426, below the $1,735 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,426 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $57,000 a year, about 62% of the median household income here of $91,977.
The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,735 a month.
A median home at $398,900 costs 4.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $99,375, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Wilmington, NC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Leland’s median household income of $91,977, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Wilmington, NC Metro Area’s figure2023 | 95.4 | Top 29%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Wilmington, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +3.7% | 62nd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Wilmington, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +59.7% | 96th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Wilmington, NC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +134.0% | 97th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year | 4.0 | Bottom 17%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.6% | 60th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±5382024 ACS 5-Year | 14,045 | 96th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,301 | Top 45%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,983 | Top 41%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,426 | Top 36%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1082024 ACS 5-Year | $1,735 | Bottom 13%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$16,8152024 ACS 5-Year | $398,900 | 82nd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1062024 ACS 5-Year | $2,419 | 64th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$8,7902024 ACS 5-Year | $99,375 | Top 28%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.61% | 20th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 35.6% | Bottom 19%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±2262024 ACS 5-Year | 253 | 95th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.8% | 68th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.1% | 33rd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2972024 ACS 5-Year | 826 | 94th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 37% since 2020, reaching 34,451 in 2024.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 908 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Brunswick County, which contains Leland, gained about 5.0% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $103,481, above the $71,400 of households that moved out.
At 30.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- New Hanover County, NC 2,149 people · 16% of arrivals
- Wake County, NC 615 people · 4.5% of arrivals
- Horry County, SC 356 people · 2.6% of arrivals
- Mecklenburg County, NC 345 people · 2.5% of arrivals
- Columbus County, NC 220 people · 1.6% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- New Hanover County, NC 1,201 people · 17% of departures
- Horry County, SC 416 people · 5.7% of departures
- Columbus County, NC 323 people · 4.5% of departures
- Wake County, NC 285 people · 3.9% of departures
- Pender County, NC 197 people · 2.7% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Brunswick County, NC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 36°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 60.1 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 60.1" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 0.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 36°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 90°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 8 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 35°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and tornado, with hurricane alone responsible for 72% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, inland flooding, tornado, heat wave, ice storm, strong wind, cold wave, landslide, drought, hail, tsunami, avalanche, volcanic activity.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Leland's police department reported 126 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 711.
Brunswick County records 6.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 17.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 19.4 per 100,000 residents in Brunswick County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Leland’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Leland (Brunswick County) rather than Leland itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Wilmington Intl at 9 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 96.5% | Top 18%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 9 mi | Top 23%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 20%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.5% | Top 22%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington Intl | ILM | 9 mi | 8,016 ft |
| Myrtle Beach Intl | MYR | 63 mi | 9,503 ft |
| Kinston Rgnl Jetport At Stallings Fld | ISO | 81 mi | 11,498 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Other cities in Wilmington, NC
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | New Hanover County | 120,805 | 58 | Wilmington vs Leland |
| Murraysville | New Hanover County | 16,339 | 60 | Murraysville vs Leland |
| Myrtle Grove | New Hanover County | 12,637 | 62 | Myrtle Grove vs Leland |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Leland side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Leland from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.