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

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Retrieved February 5, 2013. is a

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 ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. It is the northeasternmost county in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,100. 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 Currituck. The county was formed in 1668 as a precinct of Albemarle County and later gained county status in 1739. The name is "traditionally said to be an indigenous word for wild geese; Coratank." Currituck County is included in the

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

- Chesapeake, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area. It is in the northeastern section of the state and is bounded by the

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 ...

, Currituck Sound, Camden County, Dare County and the Commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Currituck Court House, mentioned as early as 1755, was the name of the county seat. Today the words "Court House" have been dropped and only Currituck is used as the community name.

History

Currituck County was created in 1668 from Albemarle County. The largest community is Moyock, with a current population of 5,670, and the county seat is Currituck.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (50.25%) is water. Currituck County includes the northern communities of North Carolina's Outer Banks, separated from mainland Currituck County by the Currituck Sound.

National protected areas

* Currituck National Wildlife Refuge *

Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1960 to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl, primarily the Snow goose, greater snow goose. It is located almost entirely on Knotts Island, North Carolina, Knotts Island in the Curritu ...

(part)

State and local protected areas/sites

* Currituck Banks Estuarine Reserve Dedicated Nature Preserve * Currituck Banks Game Land * Currituck Banks Reserve *

Currituck Beach Lighthouse The Currituck Beach Light ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of ...

* Currituck Outer Banks Preserve Dedicated Nature Preserve *

(part) * Monkey Island * North River Game Land (part) * Northwest River Marsh Game Land

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 ...

(North Atlantic Ocean) * Currituck Sound *

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 ...

* North River * Northwest River

Adjacent counties

* City of Chesapeake, Virginia – north * City of Virginia Beach, Virginia – north * Dare County – south * Tyrrell County – southwest * Camden County – southwest

Major highways

* * * * * *

Major infrastructure

* Currituck County Regional Airport * Knotts Island–Currituck Ferry

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 28,100 people, 10,522 households, and 7,467 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 23,547 people, 6,902 households, and 5,204 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 10,687 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.3%

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 ...

, 5.8% Black or African American, 0.5% 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 ...

, 0.9% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. 3.0% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. There were 6,902 households, out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.60% 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, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 19.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.98. The age distribution was 25.30% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,822, and the median income for a family was $46,382. Males had a median income of $32,619 versus $22,641 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 $19,908. 10.70% of the population and 8.90% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.10% are under the age of 18 and 8.90% are 65 or older.

Government and politics

Politically Currituck is 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 ...

" county. It voted more than eighty percent for every Democratic candidate between 1920 and 1948. Currituck never voted Republican until, after voting for American Independent

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

in 1968, turning decisively to

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in 1972. Since then, Currituck has become a powerfully Republican county. The last Democrat to carry Currituck has been

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 ...

in 1980, and at the 2016 election

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

received less than a quarter of the county's vote. The county is run by elected county commissioners, and Currituck County is a member 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. Currituck has recently paced all other counties in growth throughout North Carolina, as commuters from the Hampton Roads metro of Virginia as well as work-from-home employees have flocked to the county. The Currituck County Board of Commissioners placed a moratorium on solar farms in February 2017, but have since rescinded it with two new solar projects in the works as of 2023.

Education

Currituck County Schools are governed by a five-member, elected Board of Education. The following schools are located in the county: * Central Elementary School * Currituck County High School * Currituck County Middle School * J.P. Knapp Early College High School * Jarvisburg Elementary School * Knotts Island Elementary School * Moyock Elementary School * Moyock Middle School * Shawboro Elementary School * W.T. Griggs Elementary School * Jarvisburg Christian Academy

Communities

Map of Currituck County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

Census-designated places

* Moyock (largest community) * Coinjock * Grandy

Townships

* Crawford * Fruitville * Moyock * Poplar Branch

Other unincorporated communities

* Aydlett * Barco * Carova Beach * Corolla * Currituck (county seat) * Gibbs Woods * Grandy * Gregory * Harbinger *

Knotts Island Knotts Island is a marshy island and a small unincorporated community. The island is shared by Currituck County, North Carolina and Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States, bounded by the Currituck Sound, North Landing River, Back Bay, and K ...

* Jarvisburg * Mamie *

Maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

* North Swan Beach * Point Harbor * Poplar Beach * Poplar Branch * Powells Point * Swan Beach * Shawboro *

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

* Spot * Waterlily

Notable people

Dennis Anderson Dennis Montague Anderson (born October 24, 1960) is an American former professional monster truck driver. He is the creator, team owner, and former driver of "Grave Digger (monster truck), Grave Digger" on the United States Hot Rod Association, ...

, former driver, and creator, of the Grave Digger monster truck * Linda Carter Brinson, American journalist * Macon Brock, founder of Dollar Tree had a beach house in the Corolla community * Richard Thurmond Chatham, once owned the hunt club Dews Island in Jarvisburg * Emerson Etheridge, congressman and

Southern Unionist In the United States, Southern Unionists were white Southerners living in the Confederate States of America and the Southern Border States opposed to secession. Many fought for the Union during the Civil War. These people are also referred t ...

* John Gibbs, leader of colonial rebellion, Gibbs Rebellion, and name sake of Gibbs Woods, NC *

Thomas Jarvis Thomas Jarvis (1623–1694) was the Deputy Governor of the Carolina Province from 1691 to 1694. Biography Thomas Jarvis started his political career in 1672 as a member of the executive council under Governor Peter Carteret and continued t ...

, Colonial Governor of North Carolina * Thomas Jordan Jarvis, Governor of North Carolina * Joseph P. Knapp, publisher, philanthropist and namesake of the J.P. Knapp Early College High School *

Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...

, Supreme Court Justice, had a beach house in the Corolla community *

Henry Marchmore Shaw Henry Marchmore Shaw (November 20, 1819 – February 1, 1864) was a United States House of Representatives, Congressional Representative from North Carolina, as well as an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. H ...

, Congressman and Confederate officer

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Outer Banks 1739 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1739