Coastalville Community

The City of Coastalville is located along the Atlantic seaboard. With a population of nearly 210,000, it is the largest city in the state. The County of Coastalville has a population of 450,000 and is the second largest county (by landmass) in the State. Coastalville’s harbor is formed by the confluence of two rivers; the Henry River and the Coastalville River.

The City of Coastalville has a total area of 135 square miles, of which 118 square miles is land and 17 squares miles is covered by water. The Coastalville Harbor runs about eight miles south into the Atlantic Ocean. The Henry and Coastalville Rivers are tidal and feed into the harbor. There are barrier islands with year-around residents and summer transient rentals located to the north and south of the harbor entrance.

Tide Schedule PDF

History PDF

Coastalville experiences sub-tropical climate conditions, which translate to hot, humid summers and mild winters. Due to its proximity to the ocean, humidity levels range from 49% to 69% throughout the year.

March, April and May tend to be the most pleasant months of the year, with average temperatures ranging from the mid-60s to the upper 70s.

During the summer months, June through August, temperatures can range from the upper 70s to upper 80s, with high humidity and rainfall amounts averaging nearly four inches per month. This time of year is also during the hurricane season which could be severe weather including high winds and tides.

The fall season in Coastalville, September through November, sees generally drier conditions as the hurricane season comes to a close and more mild temperatures ranging from the upper 70s to mid 50s. The Winter season in Coastalville, December through February is dry and relatively cooler temperatures moderating in the mid-50s.

With the confluence of a major port, airport, rail, and major highways, commercial shipping is important to the economic well-being of Coastalville.

In recent years the City has become popular for high tech and innovation. This sector of the economy has had the highest rate of growth between 2015 and 2020 due in large part to the Coastalville Digital Corridor Initiative, which was the Mayor’s vision when they were first in office in 2014.

The largest industries are transportation/maritime; tourism; health care and social assistance; professional, scientific and technical services and energy.

Over the last decade, Coastalville Ports have seen tremendous growth as ports of preference the livestock exports and imports.

Due to the local maritime industry, Coastalville supports more than 60,000 employees. These include private sector jobs such as longshoremen, crane operators, truck drivers, warehouse workers, and others working in industries that rely on the port.

Users of Coastalville's Training Products will have access to more detailed demographic information, including Coastalville Social Vulnerability Index Ratings throughout the area.

According to the 2022 Census, Coastalville’s four largest racial groups are (1) White (non-Hispanic) at 71%, (2) Black or African American at 21%, (3) Hispanic at 3%, and (4) Asian at 2%.

The poverty rate in Coastalville has remained steady at around 14% of the population.

Of Coastalville’s total population, 87% are citizens, and as of 2021, 4.95% of the City’s residents were born outside of the U.S.

The average age of Coastalville residents is 40, with 64% of the population between 18 and 64 years of age.
The median household income in 2021 was $69,231 and has continued to rise.

The 2021 employed population was 75,619 at 1.3% growth rate over prior reporting.

Income inequality State-wide is 0.461 which is lower than the national average. Portions of the downtown did not benefit from recent economic prosperity, with some lower income residents living in older homes and properties in low lying areas.

Police: The Coastalville Police Department has nearly 500 sworn officers and a small cadre of reserve police officers. The Chief serves at the pleasure of the city council and has been in the position since 2015. The Coastalville County Sheriff was elected in 2020, becoming the first woman and first openly gay person to serve as a sheriff in the State.

Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS): The City of Coastalville Fire Department consists of over 400 full-time firefighters and certified Emergency Medical Technicians. The Fire Chief has been on the job since 2018. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was integrated with the Fire Department in 2017 as a cost-saving measure. That merger has not gone well, as animosity continues to ripple through both organizations. EMS provides ambulance service for the City. There are private ambulance transporters located throughout the County and surrounding communities.

Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP): The City manages its own Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for 911 emergency services which operate from a state-of-the-art operations center that was opened in 2020. Funding for the center was obtained through the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and FEMA grants, which paid for approximately 90% of the project. The 911 Center Director reports to a management board comprised of the Police, Fire and EMS Chiefs.

City Council: Coastalville has a strong mayor-council government, with the mayor acting as the chief administrator and the executive officer of the City. The mayor also presides over city council meetings and has a vote, the same as the other council members. There are 10 members of the council elected from single-member districts. The mayor has been in office since 2014, but this is a reelection year. The mayor is from a different political party than the Governor.

County Commission: As the second largest county in the state, Coastalville County has a large geographic area represented by a nine-member county commission. Members of the county commission are elected in a modified at-large system for nine seats from four residency districts. Three city council seats are reserved for the City of Coastalville, which serves concurrently with the Coastalville County Commission. The Coastalville City Council elects a chairman from its members for a limited term of two years, but chairs can be re-elected. The current chair is up for reelection.

Army National Guard. The City hosts two National Guard armories. One is a heavy truck unit that has 25 operational heavy transport/high clearance vehicles and 95 supporting drivers and maintainers. The other Armory is home to a field medical unit with 75 soldiers that range from basic first aid skills to two Physician’s Assistants. The heavy truck unit is located in North Coastalville. The medical unit Armory is located in a historic waterfront building in Old Town dating back to the 1880s. Given the large geographic region of these two units, many soldiers need to travel long distances to respond if activated. As such, activating these units in either State Active Duty status or Title 32 status for disaster response must be done well ahead of any operational need.

Air National Guard. Coastalville International Airport, in North Coastalville, hosts an Air National Guard Base on the southeast side of the airport. The airbase is home to an F16 Fighter Wing which is a globally deployable unit that also provides rapid reaction homeland defense support to protect the national airspace.

United States Coast Guard. The United States Coast Guard Station Coastalville is located in North Coastalville on the Harbor. This small boat station provides a ready search and rescue vessel on 24/7 alert, with a total of three hulls to ensure a single “ready boat” despite maintenance and training needs. The Station responds to search and rescue emergencies, aids in navigation, maritime law enforcement activities, environmental response, and Ports and Coast Security missions. Supporting Coast Guard aviation is provided by an air station about an hour away for responding H-60 helicopters whose crews include Rescue Swimmers that are EMT qualified.

The Coastalville Port Authority (CPA) is an independent government agency that owns and operates much of the seaport system at the Port of Coastalville. Chartered by the State, the CPA is intended to be a government entity that would operate like a business.

The CPA is one of the largest ports in the United States, ranked fifth in the top 25 by containerized cargo volume in 2021. The CPA operates two terminals in the City of Coastalville and represents one of the City’s leading sources of revenue behind tourism. The Port of Coastalville boasts the deepest water in the region and regularly handles ships allowable in the expanded Panama Canal (i.e., “Post Panamax” sized ships) that offers a significant competitive advantage over smaller neighboring ports.

Henry River Terminal: Located on the Henry River, it serves as a regional hub for petroleum and chemical receiving and forward movement via rail and over-the-road trucking.

Coastalville River Terminal: This CPA terminal is located on the Coastalville River and doubles as a cruise ship passenger terminal. Currently, ships calling on the port offer cruising opportunities to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada/New England and the Caribbean. On average, 100,000 passengers a year board the fleet of cruise ships that pass in and out of the CPA cruise port. The Coastalville River Terminal also serves as one of the three ferry terminals operated by the Coastalville Ferry Service.

Things to Do

Henry Point Lighthouse

The original Henry Point Lighthouse dates back to 1824 when Congress appropriated funds for a land-based light tower, small keepers dwelling, and a well. The resulting light was commissioned in May of 1825. It was destroyed during a hurricane in 1900 and rebuilt the following year. While the Coastalville Historical Society owns the current Henry Point Lighthouse in cooperation with the National Park Service, the United States Coast Guard maintains and operates the light. The Lighthouse has been in operation since 1901.

Fort Henry

During the War of 1812, the British Blockade most of the United States coastline and Coastalville was no exception. No less than three British warships blockaded Dickinson Harbor, and the Coastalville Shoals severely impacted all trade and seafaring commerce. After the War of 1812, the Secretary of War selected Fort Henry to construct an artillery battery to defend Coastalville and the Port of Coastalville from naval attack and blockade. Local citizens and the City of Coastalville donated Celia’s Island to the United States Army for the installation in 1815. Fort Henry stayed in service until 1961 when it was turned over to the National Park Service.

Getting Around

Coastalville Ferry Service: The Coastalville Ferry Service has a long history of operations dating back to 1850, connecting North and South Coastalville. Today, the ferry offers regularly scheduled service between South Coastalville, North Coastalville and the Coastalville River Passenger Terminal. The original ferry routing served the City Center; however, as the City grew, traffic patterns changed, and residents moved out of the city center routing was moved to the Coastalville River Passenger Terminal. Daily ridership is about 1,200 per weekday. The MV Thomas Jefferson, built in 1999, is the largest ship in a fleet of four. It can accommodate 150 vehicles and 1,000 passengers.

Coastalville Metro Bus Service: The City of Coastalville offers commuter bus services throughout the city and surrounding county along regularly scheduled routes.

Coastalville International Airport: The Coastalville International Airport (KCIA) is the busiest passenger airport in the state. In 2021, for example, more than 4 million enplaning and deplaning passengers passed through the airport. It also saw its strongest year for air freight, with more than 35 million pounds handled. One shortcoming of the airport is its fuel storage capacity which is limited to 3 days’ worth of normal demand. The airport provides Jet A+, Jet A, and 100LL fuel services to aircraft along with motor vehicles, including diesel fuels. Due to the high air traffic volume and limited fuel storage capacity, the airport is on track to receive an FAA grant for expansion.

The airport hosts the Coastalville Air National Guard Base on the southeastern side of the airport. The Airbase is home to an F16 Fighter Wing, which is a globally deployable unit that also provides rapid reaction homeland defense support to protect the national airspace.

Ren Municipal Airport: Ren Municipal Airfield (KRSC) is a general aviation airfield located in South Coastalville. It has one asphalt runway, 7,000’ x 180’.

Ren Municipal Airport

Freight Rail: There is a rail network that services the two Port of Coastalville Terminals. This network consists of branch lines coming off a North–South mainline of one major East Coast Class 1 Railroad. Intermodal freight movement from the Port of Charleston continues to be a growth business and profit center for the CPA. Last year the economic impact of intermodal and freight combined was $55 billion. An intermodal yard owned by the railroad located on a 400-acre site south of Coastalville serving domestic and international freight.

Passenger Rail: Amtrak uses the mainline for passenger service through a service agreement with the owning freight rail line. Its main passenger terminal is in downtown Coastalville with regularly scheduled passenger train services daily.

North Coastalville Amtrak Station