Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington
City
Wilmington skyline seen from the Cape Fear River
City Hall/Thalian Hall
UNCW Clock Tower
Basilica Shrine of St. Mary
USS North Carolina
Bellamy Mansion
Cape Fear Memorial Bridge
Flag of Wilmington
Flag
Official seal of Wilmington
Seal
Official logo of Wilmington
Logo
Nickname(s): 
The Port City, ILM, Hollywood of the East, Wilmywood[1]
Motto: 
"Persevere"
Location in New Hanover County and North Carolina
Location in New Hanover County and North Carolina
Wilmington is located in North Carolina
Wilmington
Wilmington
Location within North Carolina
Wilmington is located in the United States
Wilmington
Wilmington
Location within the United States
Coordinates: 34°12′36″N 77°53′12″W / 34.21000°N 77.88667°W / 34.21000; -77.88667
CountryUnited States
StateNorth Carolina
CountyNew Hanover
IncorporatedFebruary 20, 1739
Named forSpencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
Government
 • TypeCouncil–manager
 • MayorBill Saffo[2] (D)
Area
[3]
 • Total52.97 sq mi (137.19 km2)
 • Land51.41 sq mi (133.14 km2)
 • Water1.56 sq mi (4.05 km2)  2.95%
Elevation
[4]
43 ft (13 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total115,451
 • Estimate 
(2023)
122,698
 • Rank241st in the United States
8th in North Carolina
 • Density2,245.91/sq mi (867.15/km2)
 • Urban
255,329 (US: 159th)[5]
 • Urban density1,795.0/sq mi (693.1/km2)
 • Metro
[6]
467,337 (US: 115th)
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
28401–28412
Area codes910, 472
FIPS code37-74440
GNIS feature ID2405754[4]
Primary AirportWilmington International Airport
Websitewww.wilmingtonnc.gov

Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, in southeastern North Carolina, United States; it is also the county seat. With a population of 115,451 (as of the 2020 census),[7] it is also the eighth-most populous city in the state and the principal city of the Wilmington, NC, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties.[8] As of 2023, its metropolitan statistical area had an estimated population of 467,337.[6]

Wilmington's residential area lies between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean. The city’s downtown includes a 1.75-mile (2.82 km) riverwalk,[9] developed as a tourist attraction in the late 20th century. The riverfront was ranked as the "Best American Riverfront" by readers of USA Today in 2014,[10] and in 2008, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Wilmington one of its “Dozen Distinctive Destinations.”[11] There are also four beach communities within a half-hour’s drive of the downtown area: Fort Fisher, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and Kure Beach.

The city is home to the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), which offers a wide variety of programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and adult learners, in addition to cultural and sports events open to the community.[12]

Toward the end of the 19th century, when Wilmington was majority-black, racially integrated, prosperous – and the largest city in North Carolina – the city suffered what became known as the Wilmington massacre of 1898: white supremacists launched a coup that overthrew the legitimately elected local Fusionist government.[13] They killed a number of people (estimates range from 60 to more than 300), ran both black and white opposition leaders out of the city,[13] destroyed black citizens’ property and businesses that had been built up since the end of the Civil War, including the city’s only black-owned newspaper.[14] This coincided with broader efforts at disenfranchisement on the state level: North Carolina had 125,000 registered black voters in 1896, and only 6,000 by 1902.[15] By 1910, Charlotte overtook Wilmington as North Carolina's largest city.

In 2003, the city was designated by the U.S. Congress as a "Coast Guard City", one of 29 cities that currently bear that designation.[16] It was the home port for the USCGC Diligence, a United States Coast Guard medium-endurance cutter, until 2020.[17][18] On September 2, 2020, then-President Donald Trump officially declared Wilmington as the first World War II Heritage City in the country. The World War II battleship USS North Carolina, now a war memorial, is moored across from the downtown port area, and is open to the public for tours.[19] Other attractions include the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science and the Children's Museum of Wilmington.[20]

Wilmington is also the home of Cinespace Wilmington,[a] the largest domestic television and movie production facility outside California.[24] Dream Stage 10, the facility's newest sound stage, is the third-largest in the United States. It houses the largest special-effects water tank in North America.[25] After the studio complex's opening in 1984, Wilmington became a major center of American film and television production. Numerous movies and television series—in a range of genres—have been filmed/produced in or near the city, including The Black Phone, Blue Velvet, The Conjuring, The Crow (1994), Dawson's Creek, Eastbound & Down, Halloween Kills, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Iron Man 3, One Tree Hill, Outer Banks,[26][27] Scream (2022), The Summer I Turned Pretty, Super Mario Bros., and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[28][29]

  1. ^ "10 years in 'Wilmywood': Actor reflects on boom in the industry". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "Elected Officials". New Hanover County Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  4. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wilmington, North Carolina
  5. ^ "List of 2020 Census Urban Areas". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals: 2020-2023". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2020CensusQuickFacts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Archived from the original on April 1, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  9. ^ "Wilmington Riverwalk". www.wilmingtonnc.gov. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  10. ^ "Best American Riverfront Winners: 2014 10 Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards". 10Best. October 22, 2014.
  11. ^ "Dozen Distinctive Destinations: Wilmington, NC" (2008). Archived January 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "University of North Carolina Wilmington". uncw.edu. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Tyson, Timothy B/ (November 17, 2006). "The Ghosts of 1898 - Wilmington's Race Riot And The Rise Of White Supremacy" (PDF). The News & Observer.
  14. ^ Cain, Brooke; Quillan, Martha (February 17, 2021). "10 NC Black history lessons you likely weren't taught in school (but should have been)". Raleigh News & Observer. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  15. ^ Crain, Caleb. "What a White-Supremacist Coup Looks Like". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  16. ^ "Coast Guard Cities". United States Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Defense Media Activity. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  17. ^ "United States Coast Guard Atlantic Area > Our Organization > Area Cutters > CGDILIGENCE > History". United States Coast Guard Atlantic Area, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Defense Media Activity. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "Photos: Coast Guard Cutter Diligence through the years". Wilmington Star-News. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  19. ^ "Battleship North Carolina | Wilmington". battleshipnc.com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "The Children's Museum of Wilmington NC | Play. Learn. Grow Together". children-museum-wilm. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  21. ^ "Company Town Annex". Los Angeles Times. July 25, 1996. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  22. ^ WECT Staff (October 18, 2023). "Old logo removed after sale of local movie studio to Cinespace". WECT. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cinespace Studios was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Film Brochure New copy" (PDF). airliegardens.org. July 8, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  25. ^ Little, Ken. "Dream Stage Sets Port City On Course For A Blockbuster". WilmingtonBiz. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference OBXPortCityDaily was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference OBXWECT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference ILMFilm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference ILMTelevison was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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