Signature · 9.2% SNAP (14th pct in NC)
New Hanover County, NC
New Hanover County sits in the upper national band on low-access (28.7%, +6.6 pts vs U.S.), with SNAP/vehicle context from ACS 2024.
- 28.7%
- low-access pop.
- 8
- food-desert tracts
- 9.2%
- on SNAP
- 235K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County New Hanover County, NC
LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-LIGHT · VEH-OK · DENSITY-MIXED
- LA-ELEVATED 28.7% low-access
- ABOVE-NATIONAL +6.6 pts vs US
- LILA-CLUSTER 8 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-LIGHT 9.2% SNAP
- VEH-OK 5.6% no vehicle
- DENSITY-MIXED 18% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Catawba County ( -0.5 pts)
Upper-band low-access
New Hanover County sits in the upper national band (28.7%, #1,023 of 3,079) with 8 LILA tracts.
- #1,023
- national by low-access %
- #18
- in NC
- 27
- low-access tracts
- 18K
- food-desert residents
Upper-band counties often pair elevated low-access with clustered LILA tracts. Low access = >1 mile urban / >10 miles rural.
Signature read: 9.2% SNAP (14th pct in NC) (-2.9 pts vs U.S. SNAP) .
How New Hanover County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, New Hanover County's 28.7% low-access share is elevated, higher than 67% of them and ranked #1,025 most-affected nationwide.
New Hanover County's elevated USDA tier split
44 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 8 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, New Hanover County has 43 urban and 1 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
New Hanover County vs nearby high low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in North Carolina, not a full county-board reprint
- Hyde
Hyde 60.5%
60.5 % low-access
- Buncombe
Buncombe 29.4%
29.4 % low-access
- Cumberland
Cumberland 29.2%
29.2 % low-access
- New Hanover
New Hanover 28.7%
28.7 % low-access
- Catawba
Catawba 28.2%
28.2 % low-access
- Brunswick
Brunswick 28%
28 % low-access
- Greene 0.1
Greene 0.1%
0.1 % low-access
FARA 2019 · elevated low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 44 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 202,667 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 27 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 8 |
| Low-Access Population | 58,148 |
| Low-Access Share | 28.7%above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 17,897 |
ACS 2024 · lower SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 235,229 |
| Median Household Income | $75,166 |
| Poverty Rate | 12.3%below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 9,694 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 9.2%below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 5.6%below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.5% |
Thick SNAP store book in New Hanover County
New Hanover County has 208 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 11 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 86 locations (41% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 86
- 1 stop shop grocery, wilmington
- 17th st market, wilmington
- 7-eleven, inc. 42268h, wilmington
- aaa express, wilmington
- buy & go 6, wilmington
- buy quick, wilmington
- buy quick #9, wilmington
- carolina smoke & vape & carolina treasure bins llc, wilmington
- circle k 2704578, wilmington
- circle k 2704584, wilmington
- circle k 2709202, wilmington
- circle k 2720437, wilmington
- circle k 2720444, castle hayne
- circle k 2720450, wilmington
- circle k 2720464, wilmington
- circle k 2720858, wilmington
- circle k 2720915, castle hayne
- circle k 2723151, wilmington
- dawson food market, wilmington
- ez mart 1, wilmington
- flowers bakery outlet 670, wilmington
- golden road family fare 268, wilmington
- greenfield mini market llc, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 27, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 26, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 28, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 29, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 30, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 31, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 32, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 34, wilmington
- han-dee hugo's 35, wilmington
- in & out mart, wilmington
- islander kwik mart, kure beach
- la chiquita mini mart #2 llc, wilmington
- los tres hermanos tienda mexicana llc, castle hayne
- lucky stop 2 2, castle hayne
- m & m food mart, wilmington
- mr. tobacco of wilmington, wilmington
- mj pitt stop inc, wilmington
- monkey market, wilmington
- murphy usa 6624, wilmington
- murphy usa 6786, wilmington
- northside food market, wilmington
- nixon st mini mart, wilmington
- pmg pm 780, wilmington
- pmg pm 781, wilmington
- porters neck 104, wilmington
- prince mini mart, wilmington
- riley's convenient mart 0, wilmington
- russells quick stop, wilmington
- safeway food mart, wilmington
- sams food mart, wilmington
- scotchman 3022, carolina beach
- scotchman 3083, wilmington
- scotchman 3096, wilmington
- scotchman 3107, wilmington
- scotchman 3119, carolina beach
- scotchman 3126, wilmington
- scotchman 3127, carolina beach
- scotchman 3129, wilmington
- scotchman 3145, wilmington
- scotchman 3180, wilmington
- scotchman 3181, wilmington
- scotchman 3182, wilmington
- scotchman 3230, wilmington
- scotchman 3262, wilmington
- scotchman 3303, wilmington
- scotchman 3323, wilmington
- scotchman 3324, wilmington
- scotchman 3326, wilmington
- sheetz 840, wilmington
- sheetz 878, wilmington
- sheetz 903, wilmington
- silver lake market, wilmington
- speedway 8184, wilmington
- speedway 8185, wilmington
- speedway 8186, wilmington
- speedway 8188, wilmington
- speedway 8191, wilmington
- third street family fare 428, wilmington
- tienda latina el paso, wilmington
- tienda mis amigos 2 llc, wilmington
- tienda mis amigos 2 llc, wilmington
- university mart, wilmington
- wildcat family fare 343, wilmington
Combination Grocery/Other · 52
- big lots 3227, wilmington
- biggers market 1, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 3594, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 3816, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 3822, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 3836, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 4298, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 4622, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 4846, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 5557, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 5760, wilmington
- cvs pharmacy 7345, carolina beach
- cvs pharmacy 7350, castle hayne
- dollar general 14330, wilmington
- dollar general 1517, castle hayne
- dollar general 18831, wilmington
- dollar general 18991, wilmington
- dollar general 4388, wilmington
- dollar general 4688, wilmington
- dollar general 6971, wilmington
- dollar general 8519, carolina beach
- dollar general 9200, wilmington
- dollar general 9608, wilmington
- dollar tree 0155, wilmington
- dollar tree 2082, wilmington
- dollartree 10313, wilmington
- dollartree 11035, wilmington
- dollartree 9166, wilmington
- dollar general 15099, wilmington
- dollar general 19883, wilmington
- dollar general 22483, wilmington
- dollar general 23699, wilmington
- dollar general 24106, wilmington
- dollar tree 4270, wilmington
- dollar tree 5957, wilmington
- dollar tree 7599, wilmington
- dollar tree 7675, wilmington
- dollar tree 7887, wilmington
- family dollar 5548, wilmington
- family dollar store 10446, wilmington
- los portales mexican gro store, wilmington
- los portales supermarket, wilmington
- roses 338, wilmington
- walgreens 01560, wilmington
- walgreens 06951, wilmington
- walgreens 07919, wilmington
- walgreens 07981, carolina beach
- walgreens 09931, wilmington
- walgreens 11524, wilmington
- walgreens 11550, wilmington
- walgreens 12853, wilmington
- walgreens 1319, wilmington
Supermarket · 25
- aldi 80053, wilmington
- aldi 80098, wilmington
- eagle island fruit and seafood, wilmington
- food lion 1041, wilmington
- food lion 1193, wilmington
- food lion 1212, wilmington
- food lion 1327, wilmington
- food lion 1392, wilmington
- food lion 1404, wilmington
- food lion 1406, wilmington
- food lion 221, wilmington
- food lion 2553, carolina beach
- food lion 742, wilmington
- food lion 909, wilmington
- food lion 1388, wilmington
- fresh foods 10, castle hayne
- lowes food store 198, wilmington
- lowes food store 199, wilmington
- lowes foods store 215, wilmington
- publix 1516, wilmington
- publix north carolina lp 1580, wilmington
- publix north carolina, lp 1677, carolina beach
- tidal creek foods inc, wilmington
- the fresh market 080, wilmington
- trader joe's 747, wilmington
Super Store · 17
- costco wholesale 0635, wilmington
- harris teeter 158, wilmington
- harris teeter 162, wilmington
- harris teeter 191, wilmington
- harris teeter 210, wilmington
- harris teeter 441, wilmington
- harris teeter 096, wilmington
- harris teeter 264, wilmington
- harris teeter 301, wilmington
- lidl 1080, wilmington
- lidl 1412, wilmington
- sam's club 8129, wilmington
- target store t-1107, wilmington
- walmart s/c 1348, wilmington
- walmart supercenter 1392, wilmington
- walmart supercenter 4065, wilmington
- whole foods market 10453, wilmington
Seafood Specialty · 9
- blackburn bros. seafood, carolina beach
- castle street fish market d/b/a howards seafood, wilmington
- east coast seafood, wilmington
- princess seafood, l.l.c., wilmington
- seaview crab company, wilmington
- seaview crab company 2, wilmington
- seaview crab company- castle hayne, wilmington
- seaview crab company- market street, wilmington
- zora's seafood market, wilmington
Small Grocery Store · 6
- african caribbean market and more, wilmington
- bodega brasil mini market inc, wilmington
- la masica minimarket, llc, wilmington
- la tienda el mercadito, wilmington
- mi pueblito mini market, wilmington
- tortilleria ebenezer, wilmington
Medium Grocery Store · 5
- cb seafood & market, wilmington
- el guero fresh market, wilmington
- la huerta fresh produce, wilmington
- new saigon international market, wilmington
- sam's superette, inc., wilmington
Bakery Specialty · 3
- papa murphy's pizza nc005, wilmington
- papa murphy's pizza nc018, wilmington
- papa murphy's pizza nc058, wilmington
Farmers' Market · 2
- frankie's outdoor market, wilmington
- the wilmington farmers market, wilmington
Large Grocery Store · 2
- asian life market, wilmington
- loveys natural foods & cafe, wilmington
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 1
- america's choice gourmet, wilmington
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in North Carolina
One of 99 counties in North Carolina, 6 are shown here.
Compare New Hanover County vs Alamance County → · All North Carolina counties →
Counties near New Hanover County's elevated low-access or SNAP band
SNAP-led peer set first for New Hanover County (9.2%), with low-access neighbours deduped against it, both outside North Carolina.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside NC (28.7% here).
- Newberry County, SC · 28.7% low-access
- Newberry County, SC · 28.7% low-access
- Washington County, MD · 28.7% low-access
- Washington County, MD · 28.7% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside NC (9.2% here).
- Woodward County, OK · 9.2% SNAP
- Woodward County, OK · 9.2% SNAP
- Lancaster County, PA · 9.2% SNAP
- Lancaster County, PA · 9.2% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
New Hanover County inside a higher low-access state context
New Hanover County sits inside North Carolina (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for New Hanover County, NC are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 37129. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.