Save town Compare Needs More Love
Town guide

Surf

A town of 4,396 people in North Carolina
Be the first to joinEarn karma for joining →
1

Now in Surf

What’s happening this week

All posts →
This week+ What’s happening in Surf?
From your neighbors

What’s happening

A preview of what neighbors share. Be the first to post in Surf.

Weather

Forecast →
Coming up

Upcoming events

Nothing on the calendar yet

Put the next local happening — a market, a meeting, a concert — on the map.

Add an event →
Around town

Local news

All news →

Headlines via Google News · Articles belong to their publishers.

2

Around town

The places and views that make it Surf

Explore places →

Outdoors in Surf

Parks & trails →
Conserved land2.5%158 of 6,344 acres
Trails2.5 mi0.3 mi per sq mi
Parks & preserves136 conserved acres per 1,000 residents

Know a trail or park that’s missing? Anyone can add it to OpenStreetMap, and it shows up here on the next refresh.

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

3

Know Surf

The town at a glance, and the guide to how things work

Open the full guide →

About Surf

Town in North Carolina, United States
1949Established
3,867Population
9.6 sq miArea
21 ftElevation

Surf City is a town in Onslow and Pender counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,867 at the 2020 census. It is located on Topsail Island. The Pender County portion of Surf City is part of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Onslow County portion is part of the Jacksonville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Official town website ↗

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Town numbers

ZIP code28445, 28443
Area code910
Living in Surf

Housing in Surf

$639K▲ 3.5% in a year Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Surf home is worth about $639,000, up 3.5% in a year, 91% above the North Carolina typical home.

A balanced market

Buyer’sBalancedSeller’s
Days on market110
Sale-to-list98.8%
Sold in May24
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in Surf

C

Safety Grade C

Surf reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 73% report less. Within North Carolina, it does better than 59% of towns.

Violent crime per 1,000
Surf 4.4
North Carolina 3.3
U.S. 3.3
Property crime per 1,000
Surf 16.7
North Carolina 18.1
U.S. 15.5
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in Surf

All Surf schools →
B+

School Grade B+

The public schools Surf’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 67% of North Carolina’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

#49Best public schoolsof 252 in NC
DistrictPender County SchoolsSchools2

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within NC. Ratings are from neighbors.

Famous people from SurfWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Surf.Meet them →

Where Surf is

Explore map →
Locator map of Surf
Wikimedia Commons · Map: The original uploader was Seth Ilys at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0

Location map

How things work in Surf

All explainers →
You’re browsing

Surf

North Carolina · NC
View town boundary →
Township / city / CDP overlaps possible.
Loading boundary…

Surf is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01