Elevation of Wilmington
37ft
above sea level · 11 m
Wilmington is a city in North Carolina with 126,809 people, the 8th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 39th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 34.23° N · 77.94° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 34° 13′ 33″ N · 77° 56′ 41″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 18S · 228,740 E · 3,791,107 N
- Zone 18 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 126,809 people
- 51.4 sq mi of land · 2,467 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 3 m grid
- Data from December 2002: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Wilmington had 126,809 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 9.8% more than in April 2020, when it had 115,494. Its 51.4 sq mi of land work out to 2,467 people/sq mi; the state average is 230 people/sq mi.
It’s the 8th most populous of the 776 places the Census counts in North Carolina (cities, towns and CDPs), after Charlotte (964,784), and holds 1.1% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within New Hanover County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 3.6 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Wilmington sits at 37 ft (11 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Wilmington is 825 ft below it.
The state capital, Raleigh, is 114 mi away in a straight line and 278 ft higher than Wilmington.
Of the 10 cities in North Carolina with a page, Wilmington is the lowest: the highest is High Point (922 ft) and the lowest is Wilmington (37 ft).
The highest point in North Carolina is Mount Mitchell, at 6,684 ft according to the USGS: 6,647 ft above Wilmington, 267 mi away in a straight line.
- 211 Wilmington 37 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Wilmington.
What is the elevation of Wilmington?
Wilmington is 37 feet (11 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Wilmington?
Latitude 34.22573 and longitude -77.94471, in decimal degrees (34° 13′ 33″ N · 77° 56′ 41″ W). In UTM, zone 18: 228,740 E and 3,791,107 N, on NAD83.
How does Wilmington rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 39th lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Wilmington in?
New Hanover County, North Carolina.
Which is higher, Wilmington or Raleigh?
Raleigh. Wilmington sits at 37 ft and Raleigh at 315 ft: a difference of 278 ft, 114 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know