Brunswick County, North Carolina

Brunswick County is a county in North Carolina, United States, in the far southeastern corner of
the state, about 33 miles southwest of Wilmington. It had a population of 136,693 at the 2020
census, an estimated 152,568 by 2024, and covers 1,049.5 square miles (2,718 km2) centred near
34°02′N 78°14′W.

Bolivia is the county seat; its postal code is 28422. The county holds 3 cities, 15 incorporated
towns and 1 village, plus 31 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own, and
it runs on Eastern Time.

Towns & Villages in Brunswick County

Brunswick County has 50 named places on record: 19 incorporated municipalities (3 cities, 15
towns and 1 village) and 31 unincorporated communities. CDP stands for census designated place;
Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.

Brunswick County’s 31 unincorporated communities, none with 2020 census-level population
figures of their own:

Two pairs on the old version of this page were duplicate or retired names. Long Beach and Yaupon
Beach are not separate places — the two barrier-island towns consolidated into Oak Island in
1999, and both names dropped off the map that year. Brick Landing and Brick Landing Plantation, a
golf community near Ocean Isle Beach, do not appear as recognized place names in Census or
Wikipedia sources and are not carried over here. Several other old entries — Baldwin Estates
MH Park, Fawnbrook Circle MH and Summerhomes MH Park among them — are private mobile-home
developments, not communities with their own place names, and are also dropped.

ZIP Codes

• 28422 — Bolivia, the county seat
• 28461 — Southport (also serves Boiling Spring Lakes and Bald Head Island, reachable by
  passenger ferry)
• 28465 — Oak Island (also serves Caswell Beach)
• 28470 — Shallotte
• 28469 — Ocean Isle Beach
• 28468 — Sunset Beach
• 28467 — Carolina Shores and Calabash
• 28451 — Leland (also serves Navassa, Belville and Sandy Creek)

St. James, Varnamtown and Northwest have no ZIP code of their own in the sources checked; mail
addressed to those towns is sorted under a neighboring post office’s code.

Geography

Brunswick County is the southernmost county in North Carolina and the fourth-largest by total
area. It sits on the coastal plain, where the land is flat and low-lying, laced with tidal creeks,
pocosin wetlands and barrier islands along the Atlantic coast. Of its 1,049.5 square miles, 850.1
are land and 199.5 are water, about 19 percent — unusually high for an inland North Carolina
county but typical for one with this much tidal shoreline and river frontage. The Cape Fear River
forms much of the county’s northeastern edge, the Lockwood Folly River and the Shallotte River
both drain the interior into the ocean, and the Green Swamp, a large pocosin preserve, covers much
of the county’s western interior.

Pender County lies to the north, New Hanover County to the east, Columbus County to the
northwest, and Horry County, South Carolina, to the west and southwest. Pender County, New Hanover County, Columbus County and Horry County all border Brunswick directly.

Demographics

Brunswick County had a population of 136,693 at the 2020 census, up sharply from 73,143 in 2000,
and the latest estimate puts the county near 152,568 residents. Leland and Oak Island are the two
largest communities, together holding roughly a quarter of the county’s population. Median
household income runs $77,024, higher than North Carolina’s statewide figure of $70,804 (2023
ACS). Population density works out to roughly 161 people per square mile of land at the 2020
count, low for a coastal North Carolina county but climbing fast as growth continues.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 8,813 people,
followed by retail trade at 8,148 and construction at 6,113. The Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant,
operated by Duke Energy Carolinas near Southport, is a major employer, running two reactors with a
combined 1,870 megawatts of capacity since the 1970s. Tourism drives much of the coastal economy,
centered on the county’s string of beach towns and on Calabash, long known as the self-styled
“Seafood Capital of the World” for its cluster of fried-seafood restaurants along the Calabash
River. The county’s biggest annual event is Southport’s North Carolina Fourth of July Festival,
which draws 40,000 to 50,000 visitors each July.

History

North Carolina’s colonial assembly formed Brunswick County on 9 March 1764, carving it out of
Bladen and New Hanover counties. It was named for the colonial port town of Brunswick, itself named
for the House of Brunswick-Luneburg, the royal line of King George I. Southport, then called
Smithville, served as the county seat for most of the county’s history until 1977, when the seat
moved inland to Bolivia.

On 6 January 1960, National Airlines Flight 2511 exploded in midair and crashed near Bolivia
after a bomb detonated on board, killing all 34 people aboard. Investigators determined a passenger
had planted the device, one of the earliest confirmed bombings of a US commercial airliner.

Getting There

Interstate 140 runs through the county’s northeastern corner near Leland, connecting to
Wilmington. US Routes 17, 74, 76 and 421 cross the county, along with NC Routes 87, 130, 133, 179,
211, 904 and 906.

• Wilmington — about 33 miles northeast
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — about 38 miles southwest
• Whiteville — about 33 miles west

Wilmington International Airport, north of Wilmington, is the nearest major commercial airport.
Cape Fear Regional Jetport, near Oak Island, handles general aviation. The Wilmington area has no
Amtrak passenger rail service. A passenger ferry links Southport to Bald Head Island, and a second
state-run ferry connects Southport to Fort Fisher across the Cape Fear River.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Brunswick County located?
It sits in North Carolina’s far southeastern corner, on the coastal plain about 33 miles southwest
of Wilmington, bordered by Pender, New Hanover and Columbus counties and Horry County, South
Carolina.

What is the population of Brunswick County?
136,693 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 152,568.

How big is Brunswick County?
1,049.5 square miles (2,718 km2), of which 850.1 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Brunswick County?
Bolivia, a town of 149 people, has been the county seat since 1977, when it took over from
Southport.

How many towns and cities are in Brunswick County?
Nineteen incorporated places — 3 cities, 15 towns and the village of Bald Head Island —
plus 31 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own.

What ZIP codes does Brunswick County use?
28422 for Bolivia, 28461 for Southport, 28465 for Oak Island, 28470 for Shallotte, 28469 for Ocean
Isle Beach, 28468 for Sunset Beach, 28467 for Carolina Shores and Calabash, and 28451 for Leland.

What is Brunswick County known for?
Its string of Atlantic beach towns, Calabash’s fried-seafood restaurants, and the Brunswick
Nuclear Power Plant near Southport.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in North Carolina.