The state of North Carolina has been experiencing rapid growth for more than 50 years. In the Cape Fear region, for Brunswick and Pender counties, the trend is even faster and shows few signs of slowing.

Brunswick County grew by 4.7% between 2024 and 2025, making it the fastest-growing county in the state, according to new Census population estimates released this spring. Pender County's population, meanwhile, grew by about 3%, the second-fastest in the state.

By comparison, New Hanover County, the region's population center that houses more than three times the residents as Pender, continues to experience a less dramatic growth rate — seeing 1.1% growth between July 2024 and July 2025.

The Census update showed that Brunswick County, which added nearly 8,000 residents over the year, was the sixth-fastest growing county in the U.S.

Sheer speed and impressive population surges are, to an extent, strong indicators of economic development health, but they're not the whole story. The windburn from such rapid growth can manifest in fairly predictable ways, such as infrastructure shortfalls, overcrowded schools and traffic congestion.

Those who track and analyze such growing pains, including regional economist and University of North Carolina Wilmington professor Mouhcine Guettabi, see how infrastructure and other concerns can emerge. Hyper-fast growth will do that.

"I always joke," Guettabi said, "that all of us would rather live in a community that's growing than one that's declining. However, as we all know or will eventually learn, that pain is felt most acutely through infrastructure issues."

"And so, one of the challenges that the area has experienced with this incredibly rapid growth everyone has witnessed is that infrastructure needs have lagged behind."

In Pender County, the in-progress Hampstead Bypass is one of the higher-profile, higher-priority infrastructure projects in motion that, when complete, promises to ease chronic traffic congestion — the kind that turns a theoretical 20-minute commuting trip to downtown Wilmington into a stop-and-go slog.

Brett Weaver, a RE/MAX Essential real estate broker based in Hampstead, is cautiously optimistic about the ultimate benefits of the bypass but noted that the estimated completion date is 2030.

"It's frustrating to see the — let's call it moderate — pace of construction of this project," she said. "I'd like to see incentives to speed up that pace. In the Northeast, for instance, I don't believe the idea of taking this many years for this to open would be acceptable. Then again, looking back at the amazing growth that's occurred in Wilmington, these are issues that aren't unsolvable; they just need to be addressed smartly."
 

APPEALING NEIGHBORS

Top rankings for both Brunswick County and the northern Brunswick town of Leland in part reflect attraction to four-season activities, coastal/recreational living (with four beaches within 30 minutes or less) and the city of Wilmington's multifaceted cultural and dining appeal.

One couple, Joan and Jay Phillips, accelerated their move from Connecticut to Leland, which was originally planned for 2022 to coincide with retirement. As usual, life intersected with their "firm" plans in unexpected ways.

"We decided in 2020 to purchase our land to build our home in the Waterford community," said Joan Phillips, a former teacher and principal. "We loved the community with its interlacing canals but actually didn't see the land in person. … We saw it via drone video."

They traveled to Leland in spring 2021.

"I found our prospective neighbor, called her up and said, 'I'm your new neighbor!' When I had told her we were coming down, she said she would get everyone on the street together, and we'd have a cookout, where we could meet all the neighbors, which we did," Joan Phillips said.

The couple moved into their new home in October 2022. She began kayaking several times a week within the community, while Jay Phillips found a fairly competitive age 50-and-over softball league, joined the golf club at nearby Magnolia Greens and began playing pickleball at the House of Pickleball. Both enjoyed hiking and took that up together, not only locally but in Western North Carolina. Joan Phillips also progressed from being a member of the North Brunswick Newcomers Club to becoming the club's activities director.

Some of the Newcomers Club's events she initiated or helped put together include a tasting history tour in Carolina Beach, a Moores Creek National Battlefield tour, a chartered fishing trip and a single ladies' brunch at downtown Wilmington restaurant Seabird.

For many people who've relocated or returned to northern Brunswick County, living close to Cape Fear Community College in downtown Wilmington and UNCW is a huge advantage, creating a refreshing learning atmosphere. This proximity also translates into easily accessible concerts, theatrical performances, lectures and cultural happenings, as well as courses available for mature students through programs like UNCW's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The institute is a university-led and member-supported organization that provides lifelong learning opportunities for adults 50 and over. Courses typically fill up quickly.
 

'POWERFUL' SIGNAL

Like Brunswick County, Pender County is experiencing very strong growth. The warehouse whale that splashed into the county's economic development pond was and is Amazon. The e-commerce leader has two facilities in the county; the larger, which broke ground in March 2025, is a 3.2 million-square-foot robotics-based fulfillment center, while the other is a last-mile delivery center. The larger facility is touted as the state's largest and most technologically advanced robotics fulfillment center. Perhaps most importantly, the center is scheduled to employ over 1,000 people.

Regional economist Guettabi said, "More than anything, their choosing this locale is a signal. Meaning, when a company of this global force could locate anywhere in the country or anywhere in the world, and chooses your community, it signals that there are powerful community attributes that their research team has identified. And yes, that can impact future locational decisions."

To maximize the sustainability of growth in Brunswick and Pender counties, long-term planning is essential, he said. One of the more significant vehicles in planning for a region's growth, Guettabi said, are undertakings such as Pender County's 2030 Strategic Plan. The plan identifies five major goals and executable strategies. Those strategies include supporting schools and education — the county currently has just three traditional high schools; enhancing public safety — the county is undergoing an emergency services merger; and growth and infrastructure planning — key initiatives include creating an engineering department and drafting a water and sewer infrastructure master plan.

They also include improving communication, such as standardizing information at board meetings, and internal development and retention, which would be steps to make salaries in government more competitive.
 

A COMEBACK

Studies strongly suggest that long-term growth will stay on the fast track in Brunswick and Pender counties.

Former UNCW provost Denise Battles is another example of those contributing to the population increase in Brunswick. Battles returned to the Wilmington area in August with her husband, Mike, after a decade in the State University of New York system. They especially appreciated the opportunities and familiar stimulating vibe of living close to a college. She has become an enthusiastic participant in the Newcomers Club; her prior experience as a geologist brought an extra dose of interest in the club's recent visit to the area's National Weather Service station.

"Yup," Battles said with a smile, "I'm one of those people who literally wanted to know what the site elevations were relative to hurricane risk. I didn't want us to move into a house that was less than 15 feet above sea level — we're at about 22 feet, close enough. You can say we're in a lower-risk locale, but then again, our brethren in Asheville credibly thought the same thing. So we're aware of hurricanes and just in general concerned about general drainage issues."

In their new community of Waterford in Leland, she said there is a solid core of active older residents.

"We love the outdoors and the appeal of having a place with water everywhere," Battles said. "Setting aside spaces for recreation is essential for the quality of our lives. Combined with all that greater Wilmington has to offer — striking that balance of cultural, entertainment and educational — with the natural beauty we're surrounded with … we're in a unique position to do that here in Brunswick County."

Correction: This version has been updated to correct a quote from Denise Battles about her home's site elevation.