Leland, N.C.- For nearly two decades, the cities of Wilmington, North Carolina and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina have been fighting over Brunswick County. With a major ruling in July, it appears Wilmington has won – at least for now.
The conflict is all about federal funds. When it comes to distributing money for things like infrastructure projects- from roads to airport expansions- the federal government takes into consideration the size of a metropolitan area. The larger, and more populated, an area becomes, the more likely they are to win government appropriations or grants.
Typically it’s not that complicated of a process. You look at a map, find a major city, and then throw in the surrounding counties. But what do you do when a county sits in-between two metropolitan areas? What city gets to claim that county? That’s been the debate with Brunswick County, North Carolina.
Brunswick County is massive. It measures nearly 850 square miles spreading from the banks of the Northern Cape Fear River all the way south to the state border. Folks who live in the southern end of the county, in towns like Ocean Isle Beach and Calabash, are much closer to Myrtle Beach. Folks who live in the northern end, in towns like Leland and Winnabow, are only a few minutes drive to downtown Wilmington.
The obvious solution would be for the federal government to divide Brunswick County into two separate metropolitan areas. Myrtle Beach would get the south. Wilmington would take the north. However the law prevents counties from being split up. So in the battle over Brunswick County, and for the rights to roughly 130,000 residents to be included in the MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) population, one city is going to win and the other is going to lose.
For the last 10 years Myrtle Beach has been the winner. In 2013 the government classified the county as being part of the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach Metropolitan area. But that changed on July 21st, when the Office of Management and Budget announced that the county would be moving back to Wilmington’s MSA.
The reason for the change was two fold.
First the vast majority of development and growth in the last decade has taken place in the northern end of the county.
The second reason comes down to a study that was conducted on commuting. The southern end of the county, which is home to many retirees, has only 3% of its population working in Myrtle Beach. Meanwhile the northern end of the county has 27% of its population that crosses the bridge every morning to work in Wilmington.
Wilmington Mayor Bill Safo has been advocating for the change for several years. He told the Wilmington Business Journal, “it’s a big deal for the region and the entire state of North Carolina that we are no longer statistically ceding one of the fastest growing counties to South Carolina. From economic development and investment to Medicare reimbursement, this is a big deal.”
Brunswick County will stay in the Wilmington metro area until the numbers of the 2030 census are recorded. At that time the federal government will reexamine the development and growth trends and decide who wins the next battle over Brunswick County.