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 Seal Logo
Nickname(s):  The Port City, ILM, Hollywood of the East, Wilmywood[1]
Motto:  "Persevere"
Location in New Hanover County and North Carolina
Wilmington Location within North Carolina Show map of North Carolina Wilmington Location within the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 34°12′36″N 77°53′12″W / 34.21000°N 77.88667°W / 34.21000; -77.88667
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	New Hanover
Incorporated	February 20, 1739
Named for	Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
Government
• Type	Council–manager
• Mayor	Bill Saffo[2] (D)
Area [3]
• Total	52.97 sq mi (137.19 km2)
• Land	51.41 sq mi (133.14 km2)
• Water	1.56 sq mi (4.05 km2)  2.95%
Elevation [4]	43 ft (13 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	115,451
• Estimate  (2022)	120,324
• Rank	241st in the United States 8th in North Carolina
• Density	2,245.91/sq mi (867.15/km2)
• Urban	255,329 (US: 159th)[5]
• Urban density	1,795.0/sq mi (693.1/km2)
• Metro [6]	467,337 (US: 115th)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	28401–28412
Area codes	910, 472
FIPS code	37-74440
GNIS feature ID	2405754[4]
Primary Airport	Wilmington International Airport
Website	www.wilmingtonnc.gov

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

Wilmington's historic downtown has a 1.75-mile (2.82 km) riverwalk,^[9] developed as a tourist attraction in the late 20th century. In 2014, Wilmington's riverfront was ranked as the "Best American Riverfront" by readers of USA Today.^[10] The National Trust for Historic Preservation selected Wilmington as one of its 2008 Dozen Distinctive Destinations.^[11]

City residents live between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, with four nearby beach communities just outside Wilmington: Fort Fisher, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and Kure Beach, all within half-hour drives from downtown Wilmington. The city is home to the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), which provides 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, Wilmington was a majority-black, racially integrated, prosperous city, and the largest city in North Carolina. In the Wilmington massacre of 1898, white supremacists launched a coup that overthrew the legitimately elected local Fusionist government.^[13] They expelled opposition black and white leaders from the city,^[13] destroyed the property and businesses of black citizens built up since the Civil War, including the only black newspaper in the city, and killed an estimated 60 to more than 300 people.^[14] This coincided with broader efforts of disenfranchisement at the state level. Whereas North Carolina had 125,000 registered black voters in 1896, it had 6,000 black voters 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] and 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 shows, in a range of genres, have been produced here, including Iron Man 3, Super Mario Bros., The Conjuring, A Walk to Remember, The Crow, Sleepy Hollow, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, and The Summer I Turned Pretty.^[26][27]

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