Sunset Beach makes North Carolina’s top 10 on 3 lists
Sunset Beach is ranked on 32 lists against the 297 North Carolina towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 3 and the top quarter on 9.
Older than 100% of North Carolina
Not better or worse, just Sunset Beach’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Sunset Beach does best on
Each list ranks every NC town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Sunset Beach marked.
1 spot from the top 3 for low depression
Lists where Sunset Beach sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Sunset Beach lands in the top half on 15 of 20 lists
Each dot is Sunset Beach’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in NC, the right end is last. Areas where Sunset Beach does best come first.
Every NC list, and where Sunset Beach lands
38 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Health
Healthiest#1 Morrisville · 100 / 100
#105
Lowest obesity#1 Morrisville · 22%
#37
Fewest smokers#1 Morrisville · 7%
#33
Most active#1 Wrightsville Beach · 13%
#98
S
Fewest uninsured#1 St. James · 4%
#11
Lowest depression#1 Morrisville · 19%
#4
Closest to a top hospital#1 Winston-Salem · 0.0 mi
#148 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Emerald Isle · 68.9%
#5
Most new homes#1 Wendell · 77.4 per 1,000
#5
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Henderson · +129.4%
#6
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Tabor City · 19.2 per home
#57 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Jamestown · 13.4 min
#42 
People
B Most educated#1 Briar Chapel · 81.6% #95
Youngest#1 Cullowhee · 21.0
#297
Oldest#1 Sunset Beach · 69.1
#1
S
Most residents 65+#1 St. James · 62.8%
#2
Most kids#1 Whispering Pines · 34.6%
#294 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 La Grange · 1.2 yrs
#243
Cheapest rent#1 Edenton · $388/mo
#4
E
Lowest property tax#1 Emma · $518/yr
#191
Rent easiest to afford#1 Morrisville · 24.8%
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Spring Lake · 81.9%
#205
Most trails#1 Carrboro · 4.5 mi / sq mi
#17
Most walkable#1 Carolina Beach · 134 / sq mi
#185 
The number on the right is Sunset Beach’s spot. All of North Carolina’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every NC list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.