Wilmington, located in New Hanover County, is a coastal town situated in southeastern North Carolina. The city is bordered by the Cape Fear River to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Following is some general information about our city.

View a Community Fact Sheet with facts and figures on Wilmington.

Government

• Wilmington is governed by a non-partisan City Council consisting of a Mayor, Mayor Pro-Tem and five Councilmembers.
• Elections are held every two years.
• The Mayor serves a two-year term and Councilmembers serve staggered four-year terms.
• Wilmington is governed by a Council-Manager form of government - City Council sets the policy and direction; the City Manager oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization.

City organization

• 11 departments
• Approximately 1,000 employees
• Public safety accounts for almost half of all city staff and 45% of the General Fund
• City maintains
  • 367 miles of roads
  • 289 miles of sidewalks
  • 543 acres of parks
  • 93 acres of landscape/greenways

Wilmington's tax rate is .3325 per $100 of property valuation, making it the second lowest tax rate of North Carolina cities with a population of 50,000 or more.

Wilmington was named in honor of Spencer Compton, the Earl of Wilmington, who was Prime Minister under George II. Incorporated in 1739, Wilmington became a city in 1866. In 1840 it was the largest town in the state and remained so through the early 1900s, thanks to the thriving ports along the Cape Fear River and the arrival of the Wilmington & Raleigh Railroad (renamed the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad in 1854). When the railroad was completed in 1840, it was the largest continuous railroad track in the world.

The Port City is the childhood home of basketball great Michael Jordan and journalist David Brinkley. Other famous Wilmington natives include Kevin Beasley, Sonny Jurgenson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Charles Kuralt, Charlie Daniels, Roman Gabriel, Meadowlark Lemon, Trot Nixon and Alge Crumpler. It is also home to the WWII Battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) and was the site of the commissioning of the Virginia Class USS North Carolina (777) submarine in May 2008.