Real estate · Metro area · North Carolina
Home inspectors in the Wilmington, NC metro area
The home inspectors in the Wilmington, NC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #160 of 243 scored metro areas
#7 of 9 scored metro areas based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 18
- 2 chain locations (11%)
- Official establishments
- 22
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $3.1B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $15,336 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 65
- 35% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 0.9
- 50% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 492,772
- +15.9% since 2020
See the home inspectors around any address in the Wilmington metro area
The site report maps the home inspectors on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Wilmington metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 home inspectors in the Wilmington metro area. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 11%, against 3% across the U.S. That is 0.9 per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 0.6.
Households in the Wilmington metro area spend about $3.1B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $15,336 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per business is 35% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money home inspectors take in.
Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in the Wilmington metro area in 2023. That is one for every 9,058 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the Wilmington metro area grew 15.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for home inspectors in the Wilmington metro area is 43 (lower middle), #160 of 243 scored metro areas and #7 of 9 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.
How the Wilmington metro area compares
The same measures for North Carolina and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Wilmington metro area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 65 | 102 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 9,058 | 14,133 | 17,237 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.5% | +6.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +15.9% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $15,336 | $15,139 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $76,471 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 22
- Employees, 2023
- 63
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 182 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as building inspection services in the Wilmington metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Wilmington metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 492,772+15.9% since 2020
- Households
- 199,271
- Median age
- 45.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,913 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 237
- Median household income
- $76,471
- Average household income
- $104,427
- Median home value
- $362,400
- Jobs located here
- 180,798
- Daytime population
- 448,307Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Wilmington metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the home inspectors on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Wilmington metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHome inspectors across North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for home inspectors, numbered among those based in North Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Wilmington metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 79 | 6 | 0.2 | 257 | +7.5% | #6 of 243 |
| 2Winston-Salem, NC | 71 | 11 | 0.4 | 141 | +5.3% | #25 of 243 |
| 3Greensboro-High Point, NC | 58 | 13 | 0.4 | 134 | +4.1% | #72 of 243 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 56 | 44 | 0.6 | 97 | +0.9% | #84 of 243 |
| 4Raleigh-Cary, NC | 56 | 43 | 0.7 | 88 | +12.6% | #86 of 243 |
| 5Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 53 | 78 | 0.7 | 85 | +10.1% | #111 of 243 |
| 6Jacksonville, NC | 48 | 5 | 0.7 | 82 | +6.0% | #136 of 243 |
| 7Wilmington, NC | 43 | 18 | 0.9 | 65 | +15.9% | #160 of 243 |
| 8Fayetteville, NC | 36 | 12 | 0.8 | 66 | +1.6% | #184 of 243 |
| 9Asheville, NC | 29 | 16 | 1.0 | 58 | +3.6% | #220 of 243 |
Other business types in the Wilmington metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
- Real estate34
- Real estate agents and brokers33
- Property management40
- Mortgage brokers and lenders34
- Home inspectors43
Funeral services
Questions
How many home inspectors are in the Wilmington, NC metro area?
There are 18 home inspectors on map listings in the Wilmington metro area as of September 2026. 2 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count home inspectors. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in 2023.
How much do households in the Wilmington, NC metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $3.1B a year, or $15,336 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 18 home inspectors on map listings, housing spending per business is 35% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money home inspectors take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 199,271 households in the Wilmington metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Wilmington, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for home inspectors?
The Wilmington metro area has 0.9 home inspectors per 10,000 households, 50% above the U.S. rate of 0.6. The index of housing spending per business is 65, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of home inspectors to household spending, the Wilmington metro area would have about 12, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 9,058 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S.
How fast is the Wilmington, NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Wilmington metro area at 492,772 people in 2025, up 15.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 199,271 households. Median household income in the Wilmington metro area is $76,471, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Wilmington metro area scores 43 for home inspectors (lower middle), #160 of 243 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Wilmington metro area. It maps the home inspectors on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for home inspectors · All 56 business types in the Wilmington metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wilmington metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Wilmington metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.