States · North Carolina · New Hanover County

Silver Lake, North Carolina.

A community in New Hanover County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see New Hanover County’s.

Living in Silver Lake, New Hanover County, North Carolina

Silver Lake, in New Hanover County, had 6,500 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $76,756 a year and half less, against $75,166 across New Hanover County; 10% of its people live below the poverty line. 82% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 18% are rented. Unemployment in New Hanover County was 3.3% in August 2026, and the county had 0.9% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in New Hanover County work in schools and health care, then professional services.

People 6,500 in the 2020 census
Household income $76,756 the median, give or take $15,693 · New Hanover County: $75,166
Unemployment 3.3% New Hanover County, August 2026; 3.7% a year before
Homes 82% lived in by their owners; 18% rented
  • 2,740households
  • 32%of adults have a degree
  • 10%below the poverty line
  • 24 mintypical commute
  • 9%work from home

What people in New Hanover County work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care22%
  • Professional and business services16%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment12%
  • Shops (retail)11%
  • Building trades8%
  • Banks, insurance and property7%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. New Hanover County had 131,696 jobs in 2025, 0.9% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 56° and 36°; warmest in July, 90° and 74° 40° 60° 80° 100° J 56° 36° F M A M J J 90° 74° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 56° and 36°; warmest in July, 90° and 74° 40° 60° 80° 100° J 56° 36° F M A M J J 90° 74° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 56° and lows near 36°; warmest in July, with highs near 90° and lows near 74°. About 65 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Wilmington Southeast weather station, 2 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in New Hanover County

  1. New Hanover Regional Medical CenterGeneral hospital5,596FTE
  2. New Hanover County SchoolsSchool district3,459FTE
  3. University of North Carolina WilmingtonUniversity or college2,681
  4. GE Hitachi Nuclear AmericasNuclear fuels, inorganic, manufacturing2,596
  5. New Hanover County GovernmentBoards of supervisors, county and local2,070
  6. Cape Fear Community CollegeTwo-year college1,489
  7. CorningIndustrial glassware and glass products, pressed or blown, made in glass making plants1,030
  8. Novant Health New Hanover Orthopedic HospitalGeneral medical and surgical hospitals590

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 221 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 30,759 people in all across the county; Silver Lake has one of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023), school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24) and colleges from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. HurricanesVery high
  2. LightningVery high
  3. Winter weatherRelatively high
  4. Inland floodingRelatively high
  5. TornadoesRelatively high
  6. Coastal floodingrelatively high in parts of Silver LakeRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Silver Lake’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on New Hanover County.