Sunset Beach, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunset Beach is a town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,824 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Sunset Beach Bridge
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Location of Sunset Beach, North Carolina

Sunset Beach is located at 33°53′7″N, 78°30′27″W (33.885348, -78.507528)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.9 km² (5.8 mi²). 13.1 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.8 km² (0.7 mi²) of it (12.31%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,824 people, 909 households, and 678 families residing in the town. The population density was 139.5/km² (360.9/mi²). There were 2,983 housing units at an average density of 228.1/km² (590.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.37% White, 0.49% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.

There were 909 households out of which 7.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 3.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.28.

In the town the population was spread out with 6.9% under the age of 18, 2.7% from 18 to 24, 12.1% from 25 to 44, 43.6% from 45 to 64, and 34.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 60 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $47,356, and the median income for a family was $57,019. Males had a median income of $40,795 versus $27,708 for females. The per capita income for the town was $36,181. About 3.0% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Sunset Beach Bridge

Since most of Sunset Beach and the adjoining Bird Island coastal reserve encompass a barrier island, the only way to get there from the mainland is by crossing a pontoon bridge stradling the Intracoastal Waterway and adjacent marshland. It is a wooden structure than can only hold one lane of traffic at any given time, and is the only one of its kind still in use along the East Coast. While this does cause headaches for those trying to get on or off the island, many locals say the bridge does give the town a more relaxed feel. This is in stark contrast to the rapid growth affecting other beach communities, including the Grand Strand.