UNCW has a $500 million annual economic impact on the seven-county region of Southeastern North Carolina.

UNCW is ranked sixth in the 2008 U.S.News & World Report listing of the top public regional undergraduate universities in the South.

• For the 10th consecutive year, UNCW is among the top 10 public regional undergraduate universities in the South. The designation appears in the 2008 U.S.News & World Report “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook.
• Among both public and private institutions in the South, UNCW is tied for 14th out of 119 institutions in the "America’s Best Colleges” guidebook.
• UNC Wilmington is one of the top five "Best Values" among public universities in North Carolina, according to Kiplinger's 2008 rankings. We are ranked 35th nationally for value to in-state students and 51st for out-of-state students. Kiplinger's said schools in the top 100 "are noteworthy for their combination of top-flight academics and affordable costs
• UNCW received the "Best in the Southeast" designation for 2008 by the Princeton Review.
• On Princeton Review's list of 150 "Best Value" colleges, UNCW is designated as one of the best overall bargains - based on cost and financial aid - among the most academically outstanding colleges in the nation.
• UNC Wilmington is included in Peterson's Competitive Colleges 2008: Top Colleges for Top Students. Of the 440 institutions highlighted, UNC Wilmington, UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and UNC Asheville are the only public institutions in North Carolina listed.
• UNCW has one of the highest four-year graduation rates in the UNC system, second only to UNC-Chapel Hill.
• More than 74 percent of freshmen surveyed said UNCW was their first choice.
• UNCW has the third highest freshman-to-sophomore year retention rate in the UNC system, behind UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University.
• UNCW's student-athletes captured three Colonial Athletic Association championships in 2008: men's track and field, men's swimming and diving and women's golf. UNCW’s athletes excel not only on the playing field but in the classroom as well. The university’s student-athletes have consistently recorded among the highest graduation rates among NCAA Division 1 public universities in North Carolina for the four-year class average. According to the latest release of Academic Progress Rates by the NCAA, all 19 of UNCW’s intercollegiate teams remain in full compliance with the governing body’s guidelines, and the men’s basketball team received a Public Recognition Award recently for being in the top 10 percent nationally for its work in the classroom.
  
• UNCW is undertaking the largest construction effort ever in its history. The university recently opened the new Fisher Student Center, Cultural Arts Building and Computer Information Systems facilities. Groundbreaking will take place this year for a new School of Nursing building, and planning is underway for a new marine biotechnology building at the Center for Marine Science.
• UNCW students have a strong sense of civic responsibility and volunteered more than 35,000 hours of their time to service organizations during 2007-08.