Surf City is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 4,961 people and just one neighborhood, Surf City is the 209th largest community in North Carolina. There's nothing like the smell of a brand new house, and in Surf City, you'll find that a large proportion of houses were recently built. New growth in residential real estate is an indication that people are choosing to move to Surf City, and putting down their money on brand new construction. Surf City’s real estate is, on average, some of the newest in the nation. Surf City does seem to be experiencing an influx of affluent people, because the median household income is $81,433.00.
Surf City real estate is some of the most expensive in North Carolina, although Surf City house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.
Unlike some towns, Surf City isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Surf City are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Surf City is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Surf City who work in management occupations (13.94%), sales jobs (10.28%), and teaching (8.50%).
Surf City is home to a number of people employed in the armed forces. When you visit or walk around Surf City, some of the people you will bump into will be military people In and out of uniform, jogging, shopping and generally out and about town.
Also of interest is that Surf City has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
A relatively large number of people in Surf City telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 26.58% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.
Another notable thing is that Surf City is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.
Surf City 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.
Being a small town, Surf City does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
If knowledge is power, Surf City is a pretty powerful place. 51.57% of the adults in Surf City have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in Surf City in 2022 was $49,611, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $198,444 for a family of four. However, Surf City contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Surf City is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Surf City home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Surf City residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Surf City include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Surf City is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.
In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 77.0% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, astoundingly, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this single neighborhood has a higher concentration of married couples living here than 98.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Whether they have school-aged children or not, married couples are the rule in the neighborhood. If you are a married couple, you may find many people here with a similar lifestyle, and perhaps common interests. But if you are single, you might not find many other singles here.
Also, if you are an executive or professional seeking a neighborhood affording an executive lifestyle, or just wanting to find where other executives live in the area, the neighborhood should be on your list. It has an enviable mix of spacious homes, relatively stable real estate values, and residents that include a number of wealthy executives, managers, and professionals. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis places it as one of the top 11.0% executive lifestyle neighborhoods in the state of North Carolina. In addition to being an excellent choice for highly educated executives, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for active retirees.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Scots-Irish and Romanian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 6.1% of this neighborhood's residents have Scots-Irish ancestry and 1.2% have Romanian ancestry.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Surf City are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 57.7% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 56.6% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 19.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (11.9%), and 9.9% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 100.0% of households. Some people also speak Polish (2.5%).
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Surf City, NC, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (19.1%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (16.2%), and residents who report Irish roots (12.9%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (6.9%), along with some Scots-Irish ancestry residents (6.1%), among others.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (50.6% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (54.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (10.9%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.