Onslow County is a county in North Carolina, United States, on the state’s southeastern coast where the New River meets the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population of 204,576 at the 2020 census and covers 762 square miles (1,974 km2) of land, centred near 34°46′N 77°30′W.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville is the county seat, and its postal code is 28540. The county has one city, five towns, several unincorporated communities and four census-designated places, sits in the Eastern time zone, and is FIPS code 37133.<\/p>\n
Onslow County has one incorporated city, five incorporated towns, and a mix of Census-designated places (CDPs) and unincorporated communities and neighborhoods, many of them built up around the Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River military installations. The table below lists the county’s cities, towns, CDPs, and the best-known unincorporated communities carried over from the county’s own settlement list.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville<\/td>\n | City · seat<\/td>\n | 72,522<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Richlands<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 1,919<\/td>\n | 28574<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Swansboro<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 3,167<\/td>\n | 28584<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Holly Ridge<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 3,876<\/td>\n | 28445<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| North Topsail Beach<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 803<\/td>\n | 28460<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Surf City<\/td>\n | Town (partly)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28445<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sneads Ferry<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 3,242<\/td>\n | 28460<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Half Moon<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 10,231<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Piney Green<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 10,057<\/td>\n | 28546<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pumpkin Center<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 4,067<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hubert<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28539<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Verona<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Haws Run<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dixon<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Belgrade<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Catherine Lake<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Folkstone<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28445<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Gum Branch<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28574<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Silverdale<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28584<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Tarawa Terrace<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28543<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Midway Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28544<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Montford Point<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28542<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| New River<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| West Onslow Beach<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28460<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bear Creek<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Brocks<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cyrus<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28574<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Deppe<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ervintown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Georgetown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Huffmantown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Jarmantown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Kellum<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28584<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Padgett<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28574<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Peru<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Petersburg<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Southwest<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Willis Landing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 28540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Camp Lejeune and its adjoining housing communities (Tarawa Terrace, Midway Park, Berkeley Manor, Paradise Point, Montford Point) sit inside the New River military reservation rather than under any town charter, so they are listed here as unincorporated communities rather than CDPs, even where the Census Bureau tabulates them separately. Surf City straddles the Onslow–Pender county line, with most of its population on the Pender County side.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nMost of the county’s smaller crossroads communities and mobile-home parks share a Jacksonville, Richlands, or Swansboro ZIP rather than carrying their own postal code.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nOnslow County lies on North Carolina’s coastal plain, bounded on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and cut through by the New River, which drains most of the county into the ocean at New River Inlet. The terrain is low and flat, with extensive marsh and pocosin wetland along the coast and river, transitioning to pine flatwoods inland; roughly 16% of the county’s area is water.<\/p>\n The county borders Jones County<\/a> to the north, Carteret County<\/a> to the northeast, Duplin County<\/a> to the west, and Pender County<\/a> to the southwest, with the Atlantic Ocean forming its entire southeastern boundary.<\/p>\n Onslow County had 204,576 residents at the 2020 census, giving it a density of about 269 people per square mile. Jacksonville, the county seat, is by far the largest community; Half Moon and Piney Green, both unincorporated CDPs adjoining Jacksonville and Camp Lejeune, are the next largest. Median household income runs below the North Carolina median of $70,804, reflecting the large share of young enlisted military households in the county; military pay and housing allowances, rather than local wages, drive much of that gap.<\/p>\n The U.S. Marine Corps dominates the county’s economy. Camp Lejeune, home to II Marine Expeditionary Force, and Marine Corps Air Station New River together are among the largest employers in eastern North Carolina, and a large share of county households have a service member or federal civilian employee. Beyond the base, the economy runs on retail, healthcare (Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville), and coastal tourism at Surf City, North Topsail Beach, and Sneads Ferry. Swansboro, on the White Oak River, markets itself as the “Friendly City by the Sea” and draws visitors for its historic waterfront district.<\/p>\n Onslow Precinct was established in 1734 and became Onslow County in 1739, named for Arthur Onslow, a Speaker of the British House of Commons. The county seat was originally at Johnston (Old Onslow) before moving to Jacksonville in 1842. The county’s modern economy was reshaped in 1941 with the creation of Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base built on land taken along the New River during World War II; the base and its later addition of MCAS New River turned a rural farming county into one of the fastest-growing counties in the state.<\/p>\n US 17, US 258, and NC 24 are the county’s main highways, with NC 172 and NC 210 serving the coastal towns.<\/p>\n Albert J. Ellis Airport, near Richlands, offers commercial service; Wilmington International Airport is the nearest larger regional airport.<\/p>\n Where is Onslow County?<\/strong> What is the population of Onslow County?<\/strong> How big is Onslow County?<\/strong> What is the Onslow County seat?<\/strong> How many towns are in Onslow County?<\/strong> What ZIP codes are in Onslow County?<\/strong> |