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Nags Head, NC

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.



Overview

Nags Head is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 3,106 people and just one neighborhood, Nags Head is the 243rd largest community in North Carolina.

Nags Head home prices are not only among the most expensive in North Carolina, but Nags Head real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Occupations and Workforce

Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Nags Head is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Nags Head is a town of sales and office workers, managers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Nags Head who work in sales jobs (17.09%), management occupations (15.77%), and office and administrative support (12.06%).

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 10.93% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Nags Head is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Nags Head has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Nags Head a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.

Nags Head is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

Nags Head is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

Demographics

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Nags Head. 50.93% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Nags Head in 2022 was $60,017, which is wealthy relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $240,068 for a family of four. However, Nags Head contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Nags Head home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Nags Head residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Nags Head include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Nags Head is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Spanish.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.

Real Estate

Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.

In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 70.0% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.

People

Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.

In addition, if you're planning where to retire, the neighborhood in Nags Head is a great option to consider. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive retirement dream area analysis, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety ratings compared to other neighborhoods in NC, offers a wide range of housing options, and has already attracted an enviable mix of college educated seniors. This neighborhood ranks as better for retirement living than 86.2% of the neighborhoods in North Carolina. If you are considering retiring to North Carolina, this is a good neighborhood to look at.

Length of Commute

Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 57.9% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.3% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Italian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 17.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Italian ancestry.

The Neighbors

How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Nags Head are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 64.5% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.

A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.

In the neighborhood, 36.6% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 29.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (20.7%), and 12.8% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 97.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Spanish.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.

In the neighborhood in Nags Head, NC, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (18.9%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (17.6%), and residents who report German roots (15.1%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (12.5%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (8.9%), among others.

Getting to Work

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (57.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America. However, there is also a significant group of residents (11.0%) who commute over an hour in each direction.

Here most residents (84.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.

Real Estate includes:
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Neighborhood Setting
Economics & Demographics include:
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Household Types
Commute To Work
Migration & Mobility
Race & Ethnic Diversity
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Higher Education Attainment
Crime includes:
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Schools include:
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