Dare County is the easternmost

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,915. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Manteo. Dare County is included in the

Kill Devil Hills Kill Devil Hills is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,633 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous settlement in both Dare County and on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Th ...

, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area. Because it includes much of

Pamlico Sound Pamlico Sound ( ) is a large estuarine lagoon in North Carolina. The largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, it extends long and wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of similar lagoons that includes Albemarle Sou ...

, Dare County is the largest county in North Carolina by total area, although if considering land area only, it drops down to 68th in size among the state's 100 counties.

History

Dare County is named after

Virginia Dare Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587; date of death unknown) was the first English people, English child born in an Americas, American English overseas possessions, English colony. What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery ...

, the first child born in the Americas to English parents, who was born within the county's current borders. Founded in 1870 from parts of Tyrrell, Currituck and Hyde counties, it consists of a large segment of the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separatin ...

of North Carolina, along with

Roanoke Island Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was named after the historical Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English colonizat ...

and a peninsula of land attached to the mainland. Most of the county consists of a string of resort communities along the Outer Banks. While lightly populated by year-round residents, the population swells during the summer with vacationers. At one time, the now-abandoned town of Buffalo City was the largest community in the county.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (75.14%) is water. It is the largest county in North Carolina by total area. Dare County includes the middle part of the

and contains

National protected areas

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in eastern North Carolina along the Atlantic Coast. It was established on March 14, 1984, to preserve and protect a unique wetland habitat type—the pocosin— ...

(part) *

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a United States national seashore which preserves the portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island, stretching over , and is managed by the National Park Service. Includ ...

(part) *

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Fort Raleigh National Historic Site preserves the location of Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in the present-day United States. The site was preserved for its national significance in relation to the founding of the first English ...

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is the site of the wreck of the , one of the most famous shipwrecks in U.S. history. It was designated as the country's first National Marine Sanctuary, national marine sanctuary on February 5, 1975, and is ...

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge located on North Carolina's Pea Island, a coastal barrier island and part of a chain of islands known as the Outer Banks, adjacent to Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The sanctu ...

Wright Brothers National Memorial Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, ...

State and local protected areas/sites

* Bodie Island Lighthouse * Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve Dedicated Nature Preserve * Buxton Woods Game Land *

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is the tallest lighthouse in the U.S. from base to tip at 210 feet. Th ...

* Dare Game Land (part) *

Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is a maritime museum that focuses on the maritime history and shipwrecks of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The museum is located in Hatteras Village, the southernmost community on Hatteras Island, N ...

* Hatteras Inlet Crab Spawning Sanctuary (part) * Jennette's Pier * Jockey's Ridge State Park * Kitty Hawk Woods Coastal Reserve * Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve * Nags Head Woods Preserve Dedicated Nature Preserve * North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island *

Oregon Inlet Crab Spawning Sanctuary Oregon ( , ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much ...

* Pamlico Sound Mechanical Harvesting of Oysters Prohibited Area * Roanoke Island Festival Park *

Roanoke Island Maritime Museum Roanoke may refer to: Places *Roanoke Colony, a former English colony that mysteriously disappeared *Roanoke Island, the location of the Roanoke colony in present-day North Carolina *Roanoke River, flowing through Virginia and North Carolina and ...

* Roanoke Island Marshes Dedicated Nature Preserve * Roanoke Island Marshes Game Land * Run Hill State Natural Area * Run Hill State Natural Area Dedicated Nature Preserve * Sandy Run Park

Major water bodies

Albemarle Sound Albemarle Sound () is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan River, Chowan and Roanoke River, Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean b ...

* Alligator River *

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

(North Atlantic Ocean) * Broad Creek *

Croatan Sound Croatan Sound is an inlet in Dare County, North Carolina. It connects Pamlico Sound with Albemarle Sound, and is bordered to the east by Roanoke Island; Roanoke Sound is on the other side of the island. Its name comes from the Croatan The ...

Currituck Sound Currituck Sound ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

East Lake * Hatteras Bight *

Hatteras Inlet Hatteras Inlet is an estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County, North Car ...

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...

* Long Shoal River * Milltail Creek *

Oregon Inlet Oregon Inlet is an inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks. It joins the Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean and separates Bodie Island from Pea Island, which are connected by the Marc Basnight Bridge that spans the inlet. As one of the fe ...

* Raleigh Bay *

Roanoke Sound The Roanoke Sound is a sound that separates Roanoke Island from Bodie Island of the Outer Banks. To the north of the Roanoke Sound lies the Albemarle Sound and to the south lies the Pamlico Sound. One bridge, which carries U.S. Route 64, crosses ...

* Sawyer Lake * Shallowbag Bay * South Lake

Adjacent counties

Currituck County Currituck County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of North Ca ...

– north * Hyde County – southwest * Tyrrell County – west

Major highways

* * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

* Dare County Bombing Range, within Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge * Dare County Regional Airport, general aviation airport *

First Flight Airport First Flight Airport is a public use airport located west of the central business district of Kill Devil Hills, a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The airport is owned by the U.S. National Park Service. It is included in ...

, inside Wright Brothers National Memorial * Hatteras–Ocracoke Ferry (to Hyde County) * Stumpy Point–Rodanthe Ferry, emergency ferry service typically used for

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

evacuations or when NC 12 is damaged after a storm

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 36,915 people, 15,529 households, and 10,281 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 33,920 people, 12,690 households, and 8,450 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 26,671 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.5%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.4% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. 6.5% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 12,690 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.79. In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.4% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,411, and the median income for a family was $49,302. Males had a median income of $31,240 versus $24,318 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $23,614. About 5.5% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.9% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Ancestry

As of 2010, the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Dare County were:

Government and politics

Dare County is presently a Republican county, having voted Republican since the 1980 election, though the Republican margins of victory are significantly smaller than most Southern largely-white counties. No Democratic presidential nominee has carried

Dare County Dare County is the easternmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 36,915. Its county seat is Manteo, North Carolina, Manteo. Dare County is i ...

since

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

did so in 1976. Before the 1950s, it was mostly a typical "

Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

" Democratic county, that did not vote Republican between 1900 and 1952, albeit by significantly smaller margins than much of the rest of the Solid South. Dare County is governed by the

Dare County Board of Commissioners The Dare County Board of Commissioners is the governing body of Dare County, North Carolina. It runs in the manner of a county commission. It has seven seats held by elected officials called County Commissioners. The Commissioners are elected at ...

. Dare County is a part of the

Albemarle Commission Albemarle may refer to: People * Albemarle (given name) * Duke of Albemarle, includes a list of the dukes * Earl of Albemarle, includes a list of the earls Places United States * Albemarle, North Carolina, a city * Albemarle Sound, an estuary on t ...

regional council of governments.

Education

Public education is run by Dare County Schools. There are three public high schools/secondary schools with high school components: * Cape Hatteras Secondary School *

First Flight High School First Flight High School is a Public school (government funded), public high school serving grades 9–12. The school was established in 2004, and is located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The school ...

* Manteo High School College of The Albemarle is the local community college, with a Dare campus in Manteo. Dare County Library has branches in Manteo, Kill Devil Hills, and Hatteras.

Lighthouses

Dare County is home to two popular lighthouses: The

and the Bodie Island Lighthouse. There is also a beacon atop the

Wright Brothers Memorial Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, O ...

. A third lighthouse was built by the Town of Manteo and dedicated on September 25, 2004. The Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse is an exterior recreation of the 1877 screwpile lighthouse of the same name and is located on the Manteo waterfront. It serves as exhibit space for the N.C. Maritime Museum on Roanoke Island.

Communities

File:Dare County.png, 450px, Clickable map of Dare County rect 311 22 350 36

Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

rect 414 89 492 103

rect 386 66 446 80 Kitty Hawk rect 94 115 172 127 Manteo rect 429 140 497 156

Nags Head Nag's Head or Nags Head may refer to: London * Nag's Head, London, a locality in Holloway ** Nag's Head Market, a street market * Nag's Head, Covent Garden, a pub Elsewhere in the United Kingdom * Nag's Head Island, Abingdon-on-Thames * Nagshead ...

rect 338 44 434 56

Southern Shores Southern Shores is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. It is located on the Outer Banks and the population was 3,107 at the 2020 census. Geography Southern Shores is located at (36.124454, -75.732612). According to the Unit ...

rect 415 442 558 456

rect 30 295 241 308

rect 414 275 593 291

rect 397 226 588 241

desc bottom-left

Towns

(largest municipality) * Kitty Hawk * Manteo (county seat) *

Census-designated places

* Avon *

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

* Frisco * Hatteras * Manns Harbor * Rodanthe *

Salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in many blows at once and prevent them from f ...

* Wanchese *

Waves United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...

Unincorporated communities

Colington Island Colington Island is an island located to the west of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Kill Devil Hills in Dare County, North Carolina, Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The island is located at the converging point of Albemarle Sound ...

* East Lake * Little Kinnakeet * Martins Point * Stumpy Point

Townships

* Atlantic * Croatan * East Lake * Hatteras * Kinnekeet * Nags Head

Ghost towns

* Buffalo City (est: 1870s) (abandoned: 1950s), highest population: 3,000 (early 20th century) * Burptoe Village (est: 1892) (abandoned: 1950), highest population: 616 (1942) * Port Frenz (est: 1862 as Fort Frent) (abandoned: 1932), highest population: 602 (1924) (named as Fort Frent until 1865)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Outer Banks 1870 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1870