Dare County, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
National protected areas
- Alligator River National Wildlife RefugeAlligator River National Wildlife RefugeThe Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge was established on March 14, 1984, to preserve and protect a unique wetland habitat type—the pocosin—and its associated wildlife species.The Refuge attracts visitors worldwide for its red wolf howling programs....
(part) - Cape Hatteras National SeashoreCape Hatteras National SeashoreCape Hatteras National Seashore preserves the portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island, stretching over . Included within this section of barrier islands along N.C...
(part) - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
- Pea Island National Wildlife RefugePea Island National Wildlife RefugePea Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located on the north end of North Carolina's Hatteras Island, a coastal barrier island and part of a chain of islands known as the Outer Banks, adjacent to Cape Hatteras National Seashore...
- Wright Brothers National MemorialWright Brothers National MemorialWright 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, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau...
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2010, there were 33,920 people, 12,690 households, and 8,450 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 78 people per square mile (30/km²). There were 26,671 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile (27/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.3% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 2.5% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.4% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.6% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.0% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 2.4% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.8% from two or more races. 6.5% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 12,690 households out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.00% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.40% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.90% 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 21.40% under the age of 18, 6.30% from 18 to 24, 30.80% from 25 to 44, 27.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.20 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
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $23,614. About 5.50% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.90% of those under age 18 and 5.30% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
- Duck
- Kill Devil HillsKill Devil Hills, North CarolinaKill Devil Hills is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, USA. The population was 5,897 at the 2000 census.Nearby Kitty Hawk is frequently cited as the location of the Wright brothers' first controlled, powered airplane flights on December 17, 1903...
- Kitty HawkKitty Hawk, North CarolinaKitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,000 at the 2000 census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk....
- ManteoManteo, North CarolinaManteo is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, located on Roanoke Island. The population was 1,052 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dare County.-Geography:...
- Nags HeadNags Head, North CarolinaNags Head is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,700 at the 2000 census.-History:Early maps of the area show Nags Head as a promontory of land characterized by high sand dunes visible from miles at sea...
- Southern ShoresSouthern Shores, North CarolinaSouthern Shores is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,714 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Southern Shores is located at ....
Unincorporated communities
- AvonAvon, North CarolinaAvon is a a census-designated place in Dare County in the State of North Carolina in the United States of America. It is located at latitude 35°21'7" North, longitude 75°30'39" West. The village is south of Salvo and north of Buxton on Hatteras Island...
- BuxtonBuxton, North CarolinaBuxton is an unincorporated community of nearly 1,500 people on Hatteras Island near Cape Hatteras. It is located in Dare County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. North Carolina Highway 12 links the community to other Outer Banks communities such as Avon, Frisco, and Hatteras...
- ColingtonColington IslandColington Island is an island located to the west of Kill Devil Hills in Dare County, North Carolina. The island is located at the converging point of Albemarle Sound, Currituck Sound, Croatan Sound, and Roanoke Sound. While it is commonly referred to as one island, there are actually two separate...
- East Lake
- FriscoFrisco, North CarolinaFrisco is a small unincorporated community on the barrier island of Hatteras Island, between the villages of Buxton and Hatteras. It is located in Dare County, North Carolina, USA, and was previously named Trent, or Trent Woods, but received a new name with the coming of the post office in 1898...
- HatterasHatteras, North CarolinaHatteras is an unincorporated community in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on the Outer Banks island of Hatteras. North Carolina Highway 12 passes through the community linking it to Frisco and Ocracoke . It is south of the famous Cape Hatteras and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton...
- Manns HarborManns Harbor, North CarolinaManns Harbor is an unincorporated community in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. Located east of the intersection of US 64 and US 264; it is nestled along eastern bank of the Croatan Sound. Before 1957, Manns Harbor used to harbor a ferry that traversed the Croatan Sound and provided...
- Roanoke IslandRoanoke IslandRoanoke Island is an island in Dare County near the coast of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English exploration....
- RodantheRodanthe, North CarolinaRodanthe is an unincorporated community located in Dare County, North Carolina, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Rodanthe, along with Waves and Salvo, are part of the settlement of Chicamacomico...
- SalvoSalvo, North CarolinaSalvo is an unincorporated community located in Dare County, North Carolina, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Originally part of the settlement of Chicamacomico, Salvo was originally known as Clarks or Clarksville.The name "Salvo" allegedly stems from the American Civil...
- WancheseWanchese, North CarolinaWanchese is a census-designated place on Roanoke Island in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. It was named after Wanchese, the last known ruler of the Roanoke Native American tribe encountered by English colonists in the sixteenth century. The population was 1,527 at the 2000 census.The...
- WavesWaves, North CarolinaWaves is an unincorporated community in Dare County, North Carolina, USA. It is on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Waves, along with Rodanthe and Salvo, are part of the settlement of Chicamacomico....
Lighthouses
Dare County is home to two popular lighthouses: The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Bodie Island Lighthouse. There is also a beacon atop the Wright Brothers Memorial. 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.Transportation
Dare County Regional AirportDare County Regional Airport
Dare County Regional Airport is a public airport located one mile northwest of the central business district of Manteo, a town in Dare County, North Carolina, USA. This general aviation airport covers and has two runways....
, a general aviation airport, is located in Dare County.
Public schools
Public education is run by Dare County Schools:- Manteo High SchoolManteo High SchoolManteo High School is one of two high schools located in Dare County. The school is located on Roanoke Island at 829 Wingina Avenue, Manteo, North Carolina. Manteo was named after Chief Manteo who assisted the Roanoke Colony, which became known later as the Lost Colony...
- Manteo Middle School http://mms.darecountyschoolsonline.com/index.shtml
- Manteo Elementary School http://mes.darecountyschoolsonline.com/
- First Flight High SchoolFirst Flight High SchoolFirst Flight High School is a public high school , established in 2004 which is located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on the Outer Banks....
http://ffh.darecountyschoolsonline.com/ - First Flight Middle School http://ffm.darecountyschoolsonline.com/
- First Flight Elementary School http://ffe.darecountyschoolsonline.com/
- Kitty Hawk Elementary School http://khe.darecountyschoolsonline.com/
- Dare County Alternative School
- Cape Hatteras Secondary School http://chs.darecountyschoolsonline.com/
- Cape Hatteras Elementary School http://che.darecountyschoolsonline.com/
- Nags Head Elementary School http://nhe.darecountyschoolsonline.com/