70,077 people (2024 Census estimate, +15.6% since 2020)
871 square miles of land · 80 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
11 active community water systems list Pender County in the area they serve, reporting 56,099 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| PENDER COUNTY UTILITIES surface water · local government · NC7071011 | 32,302 served |
| SURF CITY, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · NC0471015 | 9,730 served |
| BURGAW, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · NC0471010 | 4,250 served |
| TOPSAIL BEACH, TOWN OF groundwater · local government · NC0471020 | 3,495 served |
| BELVEDERE PLANTATION groundwater · private · NC0471111 | 3,462 served |
| MAPLE HILL WATER DISTRICT buys groundwater · local government · NC0471025 | 968 served |
| CASTLE BAY S/D groundwater · private · NC7071018 | 777 served |
| OLDE POINT S/D groundwater · private · NC0471112 | 516 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 62 people were held in Pender County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 143 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 49.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Pender County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $131.9 million — $125 million to run schools, about $11,425 per student, plus $4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $32.5 million local (mostly property tax), $81.9 million state, $23.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $71.8 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Pender County about $66.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
112 bridges in Pender County: 47 in good condition, 61 fair, and 4 poor (3.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| NC53 over ANGOLA CREEK · built 1947 | 5,200 vehicles a day |
| NC210 over RILEYS CREEK · built 1956 | 4,000 vehicles a day |
| SR1306 over SILLS CREEK · built 1962 | 550 vehicles a day |
| SR1339 over KEITH BRANCH · built 1986 | 30 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $3.1 million of work in Pender County in fiscal 2025, about $52 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-09. Early voting: 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-31. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-20. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: NC State Board of Elections: upcoming election · NC State Board of Elections: vote in person · NC State Board of Elections: voter ID
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Pender County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Pender County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: New Hanover County (23 mi) · Onslow County (28 mi) · Duplin County (29 mi) · Bladen County (37 mi) · Brunswick County (38 mi) · Sampson County (43 mi).