Durham, NC vs Wilmington, NC

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Durham

69.4

#1213 nationally

Wilmington

67.8

#1388 nationally

Durham leads in median household income ($67,432 vs $54,891). Wilmington leads in average commute (21.2 min vs 22.8 min). Durham leads in school rating (6.4 vs 6.2).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Durham, NC	Wilmington, NC
WhereAtHome Score	69.4 (#1213)	67.8 (#1388)
Population	283,506	119,238
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$395,976	$421,733
Median Household Income	$67,432	$54,891
Average Commute	22.8 min	21.2 min
Walk Score	33	32
Crime Level	Moderate	Moderate
School Rating	6.4	6.2
Cost of Living Index	102	101
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+61.9	D+0.6