Sell Your Commercial Property In Wilmington, NC

Who rents in Wilmington

The 2020–2024 American Community Survey counts 120,805 residents in Wilmington and 29,640 renter households out of 56,612, a 52.4% renter share. That is well above New Hanover County's 38.6% and the state's 33.4%. Median household income in the city is $66,738, below the county's $75,166.

The renter base mixes students and staff at UNC Wilmington, hospital and health care workers, port and logistics workers, and service employees in a coastal economy. The State Ports Authority, which operates the Port of Wilmington, credits port activities with more than 88,200 jobs statewide and $660 million a year in state and local tax revenue.

Rents and affordability

Wilmington's median gross rent is $1,395 a month, $22 below the county and $167 above the state median. Affordability is tight. The ACS shows 53.8% of the city's renter households paying 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 28.7% paying half or more. Countywide, 52.0% are at or above the 30% mark. In the city, 8,513 renter households pay half or more of income on housing, the largest single group in the Census distribution.

Those shares are higher than in the state's two largest cities. In Charlotte, 47.8% of renters pay 30% or more and the median rent is $1,612; in Raleigh, 50.5% do and the median is $1,572. Wilmington's rents are lower than both, but so are local incomes, and the gap between the two is what limits how far rents can rise at renewal. For an owner, that usually means steady occupancy at in-place rents is worth more to a buyer than a pro forma that assumes large increases.

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents for the Wilmington area are:

The one-bedroom FMR is $118 above the city's median rent and the two-bedroom is $264 above it. That means voucher payment standards can exceed what many older Wilmington units command on the open market, which makes voucher tenants a meaningful option for owners willing to meet program inspection standards.

The apartment stock

Per the ACS, 19,735 of the city's 62,836 housing units, or 31.4%, are in buildings with five or more units, against 22.2% for the county. The size mix is unusually even: 4,775 units in 5–9 unit buildings, 5,502 in 10–19, 5,031 in 20–49 and 4,427 in buildings of 50 or more. Another 6,595 units, 10.5% of the stock, are in two- to four-unit buildings, and detached houses make up just 49.9% of all units.

The median unit was built in 1989, four years older than the county's 1993 median. Midtown sits inside city limits, while Ogden and Monkey Junction are unincorporated parts of New Hanover County with their own tax treatment. Leland, across the Cape Fear River, is in Brunswick County and is taxed and regulated there.

Property taxes

Under G.S. 105-284, apartment buildings are assessed at full market value. The New Hanover County tax office lists FY2026-27 rates of 30.6 cents per $100 for the county, which the county's adopted budget kept unchanged, and 33.15 cents for the City of Wilmington. The city's FY27 budget, adopted 4-3 as a $349.8 million plan, includes a 4.9-cent increase. The combined 63.75 cents comes to about $12,750 a year on a $2 million building. Properties in the city's Municipal Services District pay 5 cents more, and unincorporated properties pay the county rate plus a 7.25-cent fire services tax, or 37.85 cents in total. Bills are due September 1 and can be paid without interest until January 5, 2027.

The city's budget page notes that each one-cent change in the city rate raises about $3,543,486 for the general fund, which gives a sense of how much future increases could add. The city manager had proposed a 5.75-cent increase, and the council reduced it to 4.9 cents.

A sale does not reset the assessed value. The state excise tax on the deed under G.S. 105-228.30 is $1 per $500, or $4,000 on a $2 million sale.

Landlord rules

G.S. 42-14.1 prohibits local rent control and local voucher-acceptance mandates. G.S. 42-51 caps deposits at 1.5 months' rent for month-to-month tenancies and two months' rent for longer terms. G.S. 160D-1207 bars general rental registration, allowing a city to require it only for properties with repeated verified violations or high crime and disorder activity, with fees capped at $500 a year.

What this means if you own a building here

Wilmington combines a renter majority with a modest combined tax rate, but the share of cost-burdened renters limits rent growth, so buyers will price on in-place income. Location inside or outside city limits changes the tax bill, so have it ready. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings in Wilmington, Ogden, Monkey Junction and Leland. Estimate value with our apartment building value calculator, or see how we make offers on the sell your apartment building page.