Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Wilmington's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Wilmington?
Your $100,000 in Wilmington has the same purchasing power as $94,153 in the average US city. You'd need $5,847 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Within 10 points of Wilmington's cost index of 106, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Wilmington, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously the air is clean, not just clean-ish and you'll get your commute time back. Here's the longer version.
Wilmington's air quality index averages about 40 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Wilmington is about 23 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Wilmington's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Yes, several times a winter. Wilmington's winter average of about 28°F sits right around freezing, so storms typically drop real snow that lingers a few days before slush sets in.
Cold but workable. Winter in Wilmington averages about 28°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Wilmington runs about 86°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 8. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 8 or colder should survive a typical winter in Wilmington. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Wilmington sits roughly 7 feet (2 m) above sea level — basically at the waterline. Storm surge, king tides, and long-term sea-level rise are real considerations for any coastal property here.
Officially, Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, but most of the action lands between mid-August and mid-October. For Wilmington, that's when to keep half an eye on the National Hurricane Center forecast cone — and when an actual evacuation plan is worth having in the drawer if you're in a low-lying or coastal neighborhood.
Higher than average. Wilmington reports about 4,586 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
Roughly average. Wilmington's cost-of-living index is 106, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Not really — Wilmington is built around the car. Its Walk Score of 23 out of 100 means almost every errand is a drive. Transit Score is 40 out of 100. Living without a car is technically possible but real work; most residents wouldn't try it.
Roughly $74,347 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Wilmington runs about $1,157/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.