Ocean Isle Beach is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 958 people and four associated neighborhoods, Ocean Isle Beach is the 417th largest community in North Carolina.

Ocean Isle Beach home prices are not only among the most expensive in North Carolina, but Ocean Isle Beach real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

A relatively large number of people in Ocean Isle Beach telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 27.23% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another notable thing is that Ocean Isle Beach is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Ocean Isle Beach’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Ocean Isle Beach has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Ocean Isle Beach a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.

Ocean Isle Beach is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

Being a small town, Ocean Isle Beach does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

If knowledge is power, Ocean Isle Beach is a pretty powerful place. 54.70% of the adults in Ocean Isle Beach have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Ocean Isle Beach in 2022 was $63,760, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $255,040 for a family of four. However, Ocean Isle Beach contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Ocean Isle Beach home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ocean Isle Beach residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Ocean Isle Beach include English, German, Irish, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Ocean Isle Beach is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.