Wilmington is a relatively large coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 122,698 people and 48 associated neighborhoods, Wilmington is the eighth largest community in North Carolina. Wilmington real estate is some of the most expensive in North Carolina, although Wilmington house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Wilmington is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Wilmington is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Wilmington who work in management occupations (12.70%), sales jobs (11.43%), and food service (8.76%). Also of interest is that Wilmington has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 14.67% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Wilmington is a nice balance between life in a moderately big city and the interesting diversions and culture that come from having a big college student population. The thousands of students who arrive on campus every fall will find that Wilmington has plenty of amenities and opportunities for them, while residents of Wilmington enjoy the lectures, music, art, and economic trickle-down that colleges typically provide. "Town and Gown" complement each other in Wilmington. Wilmington is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities. The citizens of Wilmington are among the most well-educated in the nation: 43.62% of adults in Wilmington have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Wilmington in 2022 was $42,750, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $171,000 for a family of four. However, Wilmington contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Wilmington is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Wilmington home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Wilmington residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Wilmington include English, German, Irish, Italian, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Wilmington is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Other Asian languages.
