Wrightsville Beach is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. Wrightsville Beach is just east of Wilmington and is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The town consists of a 4-mile (6 km) long beach island, an interior island called Harbor Island, and pockets of commercial property on the mainland. It served as a filming location of Dawson's Creek.

New Hanover County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest county in North Carolina by land area, it is one of the most populous, as its county seat, Wilmington, is one of the state's largest communities. The county was created in 1729 as New Hanover Precinct and gained county status in 1739. New Hanover County is included in the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes neighboring Pender and Brunswick counties.