In 2024, magazine giant Southern Living ranked Wilmington as the South’s No. 1 “City on the Rise.” Since then, Wilmington has certainly been rising.
In 2025, Wilmington joined Southern Living’s overall list of the best cities in the South, coming in at 13th. Now, in 2026, Wilmington is continuing to climb.
Since being named the best city on the rise, Southern Living said Wilmington “has only continued to get better each year since.”…