Life Skills and Money Education in Brunswick County, North Carolina

About 167,112 people live in Brunswick County, North Carolina, making it among the larger counties in North Carolina, ranking 18th of 100 by population. Since 2020 it has added residents, rising 20.9% from 138,167 to 167,112 — growth concentrated enough that newcomers now make up a meaningful share of the community. With a median age of 56.1, the financial questions that matter most here lean toward retirement drawdown, insurance and estate basics.

Among adults 25 and older in Brunswick County, 33.2% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That runs 11.4 points above the North Carolina average of 21.8%. Flip that figure and it describes 66.8% of the 117,336 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, about 78,380 people whose money skills came from somewhere other than a university.

Median household income is $74,034. That is $16,120 above the North Carolina median. About 9.4% of residents live below the poverty line. The median home is valued at $314,700 — about 4.3× the median household income, a ratio that makes the arithmetic of a mortgage worth understanding before signing one.

Brunswick County by the numbers

Measure	Value
Population (2024)	167,112
Change since 2020	+20.9%
Median household income	$74,034
Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree	33.2%
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma	93.3%
Median age	56.1
Poverty rate	9.4%
Unemployment rate	5.2%
Median home value	$314,700
Land area	850.069 sq mi
Population density	197 / sq mi

What North Carolina teaches — and to whom

North Carolina already requires a full year of personal finance for a high school diploma, a rule in force since the graduating class of 2024. That covers students still in the system. It does nothing for the adults already out of it — which, in Brunswick County, is most of the people reading this.

LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Money — budgeting, credit, debt and taxes — the mechanics nobody is formally taught; Legal literacy — leases, contracts, employment rights and what a signature actually commits you to; Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used.

Where to start in Brunswick County

Shift from accumulating to drawing down

With a median age of 56.1, a large share of Brunswick County is closer to drawing on savings than building them. The skills that matter shift accordingly: sequencing withdrawals, understanding Medicare's enrolment windows, and getting beneficiary designations and a will actually filled in.

Know the newcomer paperwork

Brunswick County has grown 20.9% since 2020. Fast in-migration means a lot of residents are navigating a new state's rules at once — registration and licensing deadlines, residency for tax purposes, and lease terms that differ from wherever they moved from.

Questions people ask about Brunswick County

Do high school students in Brunswick County, North Carolina have to take a personal finance class?

Yes. North Carolina requires a full year to graduate, in force since the class of 2024.

How many adults in Brunswick County, North Carolina have a college degree?

33.2% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, based on the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey. The remaining 66.8% are managing their finances without one.

What is the median household income in Brunswick County, North Carolina?

$74,034, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.

Where can adults in Brunswick County, North Carolina learn personal finance?

Graduation requirements only ever reach people still in school. For adults, LearnLife covers the same ground on demand — money, legal literacy and the self-management that decides whether either gets used.

Start with whichever one is costing you money right now.

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Population and demographic figures: U.S. Census Bureau — 2024 Gazetteer, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates, and the American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates. Graduation-requirement status: NGPF Live U.S. Dashboard, read 2026-09-14. Figures marked as unavailable are suppressed by the Census Bureau for small populations.