Wallace is located in southern Duplin County at . The town limits extend south into Pender County. U.S. Route 117 passes through the center of town, leading north to Warsaw and south to Burgaw. North Carolina Highway 41 crosses US 117 in the center of Wallace, and leads northeast to Chinquapin and west to Harrells. Interstate 40 passes east of Wallace, with access from Exit 390 and Exit 385. I-40 leads south to Wilmington and north to Raleigh. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, all land. Wallace's mayor is Charlie Farrior.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,344 people, 1,329 households, and 862 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,299.5 people per square mile. There were 1,440 housing units at an average density of 559.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 55.65% White, 28.26% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 14.06% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.18% of the population. There were 1,329 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $25,422, and the median income for a family was $33,413. Males had a median income of $29,226 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,380. About 18.8% of families and 23.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 26.1% of those age 65 or over.
